Abstract
A nascent line of research aimed at elucidating the neurocognitive mechanisms of mindfulness has consistently identified a relationship between mindfulness and error monitoring. However, the exact nature of this relationship is unclear, with studies reporting divergent outcomes. The current study sought to clarify the ambiguity by addressing issues related to construct heterogeneity and technical variation in mindfulness training. Specifically, we examined the effects of a brief open monitoring (OM) meditation on neural (error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe)) and behavioral indices of error monitoring in one of the largest novice non-meditating samples to date (N = 212). Results revealed that the OM meditation enhanced Pe amplitude relative to active controls but did not modulate the ERN or behavioral performance. Moreover, exploratory analyses yielded no relationships between trait mindfulness and the ERN or Pe across either group. Broadly, our findings suggest that technical variation in scope and object of awareness during mindfulness training may differentially modulate the ERN and Pe. Conceptual and methodological implications pertaining to the operationalization of mindfulness and its training are discussed.
Highlights
For the past two decades, mindfulness, commonly defined as the adoption of a nonelaborative, nonjudgmental awareness to present-moment experience [1,2], has garnered increasing interest for its seemingly innumerable benefits, permeating into the broader social discourse and influencing areas including public health, academia, corporations, and even politics [3,4]
Our findings did not support our hypotheses—contrary to our prediction that the meditation group would exhibit a larger error-related negativity (ERN) and no change in the Pe, the ERN did not differ between groups but the Pe was larger in the meditation group
Consistent with the common, but debated, suggestion that larger ERN and Pe amplitudes reflect better cognitive ability, we found that larger ERN and Pe amplitudes were associated with fewer errors, faster RTs, and greater PEA across both groups
Summary
For the past two decades, mindfulness, commonly defined as the adoption of a nonelaborative, nonjudgmental awareness to present-moment experience [1,2], has garnered increasing interest for its seemingly innumerable benefits, permeating into the broader social discourse and influencing areas including public health, academia, corporations, and even politics [3,4]. Despite mounting caution from various academic disciplines that enthusiasm for mindfulness may be outpacing scientific progress [5,6,7], the accelerating proliferation and public embracement of mindfulness appear relatively uninterrupted. Research aimed at exploring the salutary effects of mindfulness may be derivative of broader sociocultural interests in self-improvement and social flourishing—motivations that may maintain a collective predilection toward “discovering benefits” [8]. This appears reflected in the large and continuously expanding number of clinical, academic, social, and professional interventions from which mindfulness serves as a basis and inspiration
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