Mindfulness Training in High-Demand Cohorts Alters Resting-State Electroencephalography: An Exploratory Investigation of Individual Alpha Frequency, Aperiodic 1/ Activity, and Microstates.

Background: Mindfulness training (MT) programs have demonstrated utility as cognitive training tools, but there is little consensus on the neurophysiological processes that may underlie its benefits. It has been posited that intrinsic brain activity recorded at rest reflects the functional connectivity of large-scale brain networks and may provide insight into neuroplastic changes that support MT. In the current study, we indexed changes in several resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) parameters to investigate the neurophysiological underpinnings of MT.

Using Electroencephalography to Advance Mindfulness Science: A Survey of Emerging Methods and Approaches.

Throughout the brief history of contemplative neuroscience, electroencephalography (EEG) has been a valuable and enduring methodology used to elucidate the neural correlates and mechanisms of mindfulness. In this review, we provide a reminder that longevity should not be conflated with obsoletion and that EEG continues to offer exceptional promise for addressing key questions and challenges that pervade the field today. Toward this end, we first outline the unique advantages of EEG from a research strategy and experimental design perspective, then highlight an array of new sophisticated data analytic approaches and translational paradigms.

Mind wandering is associated with worsening attentional vigilance.

The tendency for our minds to wander is a pervasive and disruptive influence on continued task performance. Models of sustained attention have implicated mind wandering, moments when attention has turned inwards toward task-unrelated thought, in characteristic patterns of worsening performance with greater time-on-task, known as the vigilance decrement. Despite their theoretical connection, associations between mind wandering and the vigilance decrement have not been investigated systematically.

Examining factors associated with self-reported cognitive functioning in elite military settings: considerations of combat experiences and post-traumatic stress symptomology.

Exposure to traumatic events is associated with post-traumatic stress symptomology (PTSS) in a variety of populations. PTSS is also associated with self-reported everyday cognitive failures, which are acknowledged attentional lapses experienced in one's naturalistic everyday environment. While a growing literature suggests that PTSS is associated with both traumatic events and attentional functions, little is known regarding similar associations in elite military cohorts, such as Special Operations Forces (SOF) personnel.

Measuring mind wandering with experience sampling during task performance: An item response theory investigation.

The tendency for individuals to mind wander is often measured using experience sampling methods in which probe questions embedded within computerized cognitive tasks attempt to catch episodes of off-task thought at random intervals during task performance. However, mind-wandering probe questions and response options are often chosen ad hoc and vary between studies with extant little guidance as to the psychometric consequences of these methodological decisions. In the present study, we examined the psychometric properties of several common approaches for assessing mind wandering using methods from item response theory (IRT).

Changes in peripheral oxytocin and vasopressin during a silent month-long Insight meditation retreat.

Background: Given its putative roles in mediating prosocial behavior, attachment bonds, and stress physiology, oxytocin modulation has been hypothesized to be a biological correlate of the salubrious effects of meditation practice. Here we investigated the effects of a month-long silent meditation retreat on changes in oxytocin, and the related hormone and vasopressin, in relation to psychosocial changes in attachment style, anxiety, personality measures, and feelings of social connectedness with fellow meditators.

Methods: Plasma oxytocin and vasopressin and self-report questionnaires were measured in retreat participants ( = 28) at the beginning of, and 3 weeks into, a residential meditation retreat.

Mind-wandering increases in frequency over time during task performance: An individual-participant meta-analytic review.

Attention has a seemingly inevitable tendency to turn inward toward our thoughts. Mind-wandering refers to moments when this inward focus diverts attention away from the current task-at-hand. Mind-wandering is thought to be ubiquitous, having been estimated to occur between 30% and 50% of our waking moments.

Investigating the protective effects of mindfulness-based attention training on mind wandering in applied settings.

Introduction: Mind wandering, a phenomenon in which attention drifts away from the task-at-hand, is associated with deleterious effects on performance and well-being. As such, efforts to curb mind wandering are warranted. Recently, mindfulness training (MT) has been found to protect against mind wandering.

Normative Temporal Dynamics of Resting EEG Microstates.

The large-scale electrophysiological events known as electroencephalographic microstates provide an important window into the intrinsic activity of whole-brain neuronal networks. The spontaneous activity of coordinated brain networks, including the ongoing temporal dynamics expressed by microstates, are thought to reflect individuals' neurocognitive functioning, and predict development, disease progression, and psychological differences among varied populations. A comprehensive understanding of human brain function therefore requires characterizing typical and atypical patterns in the temporal dynamics of microstates.

Online mindfulness training for older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: a randomized controlled trial using a multi-method assessment approach.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic drastically accelerated the need for studies examining the effectiveness of programs to bolster psychological well-being, particularly for at-risk groups, such as older adults (OAs). Mindfulness Training (MT) has been suggested as a well-suited program for this purpose. The present study examined the impact of a 4-week online, trainer-led MT course tailored for OAs during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cultivating concern for others: Meditation training and motivated engagement with human suffering.

Contemplative traditions have long affirmed that compassion and kindness are trainable skills. While research on meditation practice has recently flourished, the mechanisms that might engender such changes are still poorly understood. Here, we present a motivational framework to explain why meditation training should increase concern for others and modulate empathic engagement with human suffering over time.

Shifting Baselines: Longitudinal Reductions in EEG Beta Band Power Characterize Resting Brain Activity with Intensive Meditation.

Objectives: A core assumption of meditation training is that cognitive capacities developed during formal practice will transfer to other contexts or activities as expertise develops over time. This implies that meditation training might influence domain-general neurocognitive systems, the spontaneous activity of which should be reflected in the dynamics of the resting brain. Previous research has demonstrated that 3 months of meditation training led to reductions in EEG beta band power during mindfulness of breathing practice.

The role of affective interference and mnemonic load in the dynamic adjustment in working memory.

The amount of cognitive control required during a task may fluctuate over the course of performing a task. The dynamic upregulation of cognitive control has been proposed to occur in response to conflict or in response to the need for additional control during demanding cognitive tasks. Specifically, upregulation in cognitive control results in improved performance on trials that follow more demanding trials.

Higher self-reported posttraumatic stress symptoms are associated with poorer working memory in active-duty service members.

Objective: Posttraumatic stress is a significant issue facing military service members and can negatively impact working memory (WM), which is critical for performance success. Yet, few studies have examined the link between self-reported posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and WM performance in active-duty military cohorts. The present study utilized hierarchical linear modeling to examine this relationship by considering PTSS and underlying symptom clusters as well as WM demands related to load and affective interference in an active-duty military cohort ( = 515).

Meditation training modulates brain electric microstates and felt states of awareness.

Meditation practice is believed to foster states of mindful awareness and mental quiescence in everyday life. If so, then the cultivation of these qualities with training ought to leave its imprint on the activity of intrinsic functional brain networks. In an intensive longitudinal study, we investigated associations between meditation practitioners' experiences of felt mindful awareness and changes in the spontaneous electrophysiological dynamics of functional brain networks.

Associations between self-reported spontaneous thought and temporal sequences of EEG microstates.

Thought dynamically evolves from one moment to the next even in the absence of external stimulation. The extent to which patterns of spontaneous thought covary with time-varying fluctuations in intrinsic brain activity is of great interest but remains unknown. We conducted novel analyses of data originally reported by Portnova et al.

Self-reported Mind Wandering and Response Time Variability Differentiate Prestimulus Electroencephalogram Microstate Dynamics during a Sustained Attention Task.

Brain activity continuously and spontaneously fluctuates during tasks of sustained attention. This spontaneous activity reflects the intrinsic dynamics of neurocognitive networks, which have been suggested to differentiate moments of externally directed task focus from episodes of mind wandering. However, the contribution of specific electrophysiological brain states and their millisecond dynamics to the experience of mind wandering is still unclear.

Experience sampling of the degree of mind wandering distinguishes hidden attentional states.

Experience sampling of attentional states has consistently demonstrated that mind wandering is a frequent and disruptive obstacle when one must sustain attention during continuous task performance. Yet, methods commonly used to assess the subjective experience of mind wandering may conflate several potential sources of meaningful variation in individuals' degree of task engagement. In the present study, we examined evidence for distinct and identifiable patterns in subjective reports of the degree of task-related attentional focus during a sustained attention task in a large sample of adults (N = 537).

Memory load, distracter interference, and dynamic adjustments in cognitive control influence working memory performance across the lifespan.

Capacity-limited working memory (WM) systems have been known to degrade in older age. In line with inhibition-deficit theories of aging, WM deficits in older individuals have been attributed to failures in the ability to suppress the processing of task irrelevant, distracting information. Yet, other cognitive mechanisms underlying age-related WM deficits have been observed, including failures in WM with increasing memory load.

Deconstructing the effects of concentration meditation practice on interference control: The roles of controlled attention and inflammatory activity.

Prior work has linked meditation practice to improvements in interference control. However, the mechanisms underlying these improvements are relatively unknown. In the context of meditation training, improvements in interference control could result eitherfrom increases in controlled attention to goal-relevant stimuli, or from reductions in automatic capture by goal-irrelevant stimuli.

EEG Electric Field Topography is Stable During Moments of High Field Strength.

Spontaneous broadband electroencephalography (EEG) demonstrates short moments of stability in the spatial distribution of the head-surface voltage topography. This phenomenon underlies the premise behind segmenting multichannel EEG into topographically defined brain states, known as EEG microstates. Microstate segmentation methods commonly identify representative topographical configurations based on clustering applied to a subset of voltage maps selected at the time series points of greatest strength in the neuroelectric field.

Quantifying streams of thought during cognitive task performance using sequence analysis.

Streams of thought vary in content from one moment to the next, and these temporal patterns have been argued to be critical to understanding the wandering mind. But few analytic methods have been proposed that can account for both the content and temporal ordering of categorical experience sampling thought probes over time. In the present study, I apply sequence analytic methods to quantify the dynamics of thought from time series sequences of categorical experience sampling thought probes delivered across five different cognitive tasks in the same individuals (N = 545).

Is resilience trainable? An initial study comparing mindfulness and relaxation training in firefighters.

Motivated by the growing interest in promoting resilience in first responders and other professionals who face threatening professional circumstances, the current study investigated the effectiveness of offering a short-form mindfulness training (MT) program to firefighters. The overarching question was to determine if psychological and cognitive markers of resilience are bolstered via MT. Firefighters (n = 121) were assigned to an MT program (n = 42), an active-comparison relaxation training program (RT, n = 31), or served as no-training controls (NTC, n = 48).

Within and between-person correlates of the temporal dynamics of resting EEG microstates.

Microstates reflect transient brain states resulting from the synchronous activity of brain networks that predominate in the broadband EEG. There has been increasing interest in how the functional organization of the brain varies across individuals, or the extent to which its spatiotemporal dynamics are state dependent. However, little research has examined within and between-person correlates of microstate temporal parameters in healthy populations.