The mindful eye: Smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements in meditators and non-meditators.

Veena Kumari,Anne Schmechtig,Elena Antonova,Bernice Wright,Aseel Hamid,Eva Machado Hernandez,Ulrich Ettinger

doi:10.1016/j.concog.2016.10.008

Abstract

This study examined the effects of cultivated (i.e. developed through training) and dispositional (trait) mindfulness on smooth pursuit (SPEM) and antisaccade (AS) tasks known to engage the fronto-parietal network implicated in attentional and motion detection processes, and the fronto-striatal network implicated in cognitive control, respectively. Sixty healthy men (19-59years), of whom 30 were experienced mindfulness practitioners and 30 meditation-naïve, underwent infrared oculographic assessment of SPEM and AS performance. Trait mindfulness was assessed using the self-report Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). Meditators, relative to meditation-naïve individuals, made significantly fewer catch-up and anticipatory saccades during the SPEM task, and had significantly lower intra-individual variability in gain and spatial error during the AS task. No SPEM or AS measure correlated significantly with FFMQ scores in meditation-naïve individuals. Cultivated, but not dispositional, mindfulness is associated with improved attention and sensorimotor control as indexed by SPEM and AS tasks.

Highlights

Smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements are two types of eye movements that both human and non-human primates voluntarily employ to allow the image of an object fall and maintain near to or on the fovea
Other indicators of smooth pursuit eye movements (SPEM) efficiency are the frequency of compensatory catch-up and intrusive anticipatory saccades made during the smooth pursuit task
The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of mindfulness both as a trait and developed through training on visuo-spatial attentional and voluntary inhibition processes indexed by the SPEM and AS paradigms, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements are two types of eye movements that both human and non-human primates voluntarily employ to allow the image of an object fall and maintain near to or on the fovea. The function of smooth pursuit eye movements (SPEM) is to keep a retinal image within the area of the fovea during the movement of an object. Other indicators of SPEM efficiency are the frequency of compensatory catch-up and intrusive anticipatory saccades made during the smooth pursuit task. This study examined the effects of cultivated (i.e. developed through training) and dispositional (trait) mindfulness on smooth pursuit (SPEM) and antisaccade (AS) tasks known to engage the fronto-parietal network implicated in attentional and motion detection processes, and the fronto-striatal network implicated in cognitive control, respectively. Results: Meditators, relative to meditation-naïve individuals, made significantly fewer catch-up and anticipatory saccades during the SPEM task, and had significantly lower intra-individual variability in gain and spatial error during the AS task. Conclusions: Cultivated, but not dispositional, mindfulness is associated with improved attention and sensorimotor control as indexed by SPEM and AS tasks.

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Conclusion