Post-training Meditation Promotes Motor Memory Consolidation.
Frontiers in Psychology 2016 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01698 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 12 |
| Population | Adult residents of a yoga center with a mean of 9 years meditation experience |
| Intervention | Yoga nidra meditation |
| Duration | 30 min meditation session, 4.5 h wakeful period after meditation, test after that period |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Human performance Memory consolidation Motor learning Sequence learning |
| Key findings | Post-training yoga nidra meditation was associated with better performance at test, but only on trained sequences, not untrained ones. The authors argue this pattern indicates meditation promoted motor memory stabilization rather than off-line learning, and they describe it as the first demonstration of meditation-related motor memory consolidation. |
Abstract
Following training, motor memory consolidation is thought to involve either memory stabilization or off-line learning processes. The extent to which memory stabilization or off-line learning relies on post-training wakeful periods or sleep is not clear and thus, novel research approaches are needed to further explore the conditions that promote motor memory consolidation. The present experiment represents the first empirical test of meditation as potential facilitator of motor memory consolidation. Twelve adult residents of a yoga center with a mean of 9 years meditation experience were trained on a sequence key pressing task. Three hours after training, the meditation group completed a 30 min session of yoga nidra meditation while a control group completed 30 min of light work duties. A wakeful period of 4.5 h followed meditation after which participants completed a test involving both trained and untrained sequences. Training performance did not significantly differ between groups. Comparison of group performance at test, revealed a performance benefit of post-training meditation but this was limited to trained sequences only. That the post-training meditation performance benefit was specific to trained sequences is consistent with the notion of meditation promoting motor memory consolidation as opposed to general motor task performance benefits from meditation. Further, post-training meditation appears to have promoted motor memory stabilization as opposed to off-line learning. These findings represent the first demonstration of meditation related motor memory consolidation and are consistent with a growing body of literature demonstrating the benefits of meditation for cognitive function, including memory.
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 7
- Exploring the uses of yoga nidra: An integrative review. Journal of Nursing Scholarship November 1, 2023
- Different Patterns of Sleep-Dependent Procedural Memory Consolidation in Vipassana Meditation Practitioners and Non-meditating Controls. Frontiers in Psychology January 23, 2020
- The Effects of Self-Guided Meditation and Napping on Memory Consolidation in Humans January 30, 2020
- A closer look at yoga nidra- early randomized sleep lab investigations. Journal of Psychosomatic Research March 2023
- Acute exercise and mindfulness meditation on learning and memory: randomized controlled intervention Health Promotion Perspectives November 26, 2019
and 2 more in the library
Cites 19
- Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences October 11, 2007
- Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering Psychological Science March 28, 2013
- The meeting of meditative disciplines and western psychology: A mutually enriching dialogue. American Psychologist 2006
- Neural mechanisms of attentional control in mindfulness meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience 2013
- A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2015
and 14 more in the library