The influence of focused-attention meditation states on the cognitive control of sequence learning.
Russell W Chan, Maarten A. Immink, Kurt Lushington
Consciousness and Cognition October 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.07.004 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Focused-attention meditation (FAM) |
| Duration | Single session of focused-attention meditation, with or without a delay |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Attention Cognitive control Memory Sequence learning |
| Key findings | The authors report that a single session of focused-attention meditation improved early, random-ordered performance relative to no meditation, while meditation followed by a delay produced the greatest sequence learning improvement and superior end-of-task performance. They argue that immediate meditation increases top-down control and biases stimulus-based planning, whereas a delay relaxes control and enables response-based planning. |
Abstract
Cognitive control processes influence how motor sequence information is utilised and represented. Since cognitive control processes are shared amongst goal-oriented tasks, motor sequence learning and performance might be influenced by preceding cognitive tasks such as focused-attention meditation (FAM). Prior to a serial reaction time task (SRTT), participants completed either a single-session of FAM, a single-session of FAM followed by delay (FAM+) or no meditation (CONTROL). Relative to CONTROL, FAM benefitted performance in early, random-ordered blocks. However, across subsequent sequence learning blocks, FAM+ supported the highest levels of performance improvement resulting in superior performance at the end of the SRTT. Performance following FAM+ demonstrated greater reliance on embedded sequence structures than FAM. These findings illustrate that increased top-down control immediately after FAM biases the implementation of stimulus-based planning. Introduction of a delay following FAM relaxes top-down control allowing for implementation of response-based planning resulting in sequence learning benefits.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 12
- Review of the Neural Oscillations Underlying Meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience March 26, 2018
- Focused-Attention Meditation Improves Flow, Communication Skills, and Safety Attitudes of Surgeons International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health April 27, 2022
- Short-term Focused Attention Meditation Restricts the Retrieval of Stimulus-Response Bindings to Relevant Information Mindfulness March 9, 2021
- Instantaneous effects of mindfulness meditation on tennis return performance in elite junior athletes completing an implicitly sequenced serve return task Frontiers in Sports and Active Living August 23, 2022
- Individual Differences in the Change of Attentional Functions With Brief One-Time Focused Attention and Open Monitoring Meditations Frontiers in Psychology October 29, 2021
and 7 more in the library
Cites 21
- Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences October 11, 2007
- Conceptual and methodological issues in research on mindfulness and meditation. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Mental Training Affects Distribution of Limited Brain Resources PLoS Biology May 4, 2007
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Neural mechanisms of attentional control in mindfulness meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience 2013
and 16 more in the library