Short-term Mindfulness Research Articles

Brief Mindfulness Meditation Induces Gray Matter Changes in a Brain Hub.

Previous studies suggest that the practice of long-term (months to years) mindfulness meditation induces structural plasticity in gray matter. However, it remains unknown whether short-term (<30 days) mindfulness meditation in novices could induce similar structural changes. Our previous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) identified white matter changes surrounding the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) within 2 to 4 weeks, following 5-10 h of mindfulness training. Furthermore, these changes were correlated with emotional states in healthy adults. The PCC is a key hub in the functional anatomy implicated in meditation and other perspectival processes. In this longitudinal study using a randomized design, we therefore examined the effect of a 10 h of mindfulness training, the Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) on gray matter volume of the PCC compared to an active control—relaxation training (RT). We found that brief IBMT increased ventral PCC volume and that baseline temperamental trait—an index of individual differences was associated with a reduction in training-induced gray matter increases. Our findings indicate that brief mindfulness meditation induces gray matter plasticity, suggesting that structural changes in ventral PCC—a key hub associated with self-awareness, emotion, cognition, and aging—may have important implications for protecting against mood-related disorders and aging-related cognitive declines.

The Effect of a Short-Term Mindfulness Program on Memory Performance in School-Aged Children

The Effect of a Short-Term Mindfulness Program on Memory Performance in School-Aged Children A one-week mindfulness-based intervention designed to improve 8- to 10-year-old children's memory performance was investigated. Seventy-three children were quasi-randomly assigned either to one of two mindfulness-based intervention groups (breathing meditation or yoga), or to an active control group. The sessions were held on six consecutive days. Prior to intervention and after completing the intervention, children's short-term and long-term memory performance were assessed. In confirmation of prior studies, breathing meditation and yoga showed positive effects on memory performance when compared with the control group. Moreover, differences in the effectiveness of breathing meditation and yoga were found: While both interventions had comparable effects on long-term memory, only breathing meditation showed improvements in short-term memory performance. The present study provides valuable evidence on the effectiveness of meditation on cognitive functions in childhood and shows that school-aged children can already benefit from short-term meditation programs.

The Influence of a Short-Term Mindfulness Meditation Intervention on Emotion and Visual Attention

It has been suggested that mindfulness meditation (MM) improves psychological well-being via the focusing and broadening of attention. Whilst studies show that short-term MM interventions can improve focused attention, there is little evidence to support the broadening of attention. The current study investigated the influence of a short-term MM intervention on emotion and the scope of visual attention. Seventy participants completed a global-local processing task separated into three blocks of trials, with a 10-min break between each one. During the breaks, a MM group engaged in a breath-counting task and a control group engaged in a task of their choosing. Response times to global and local targets and a measure of self-reported emotional affect were recorded for each block. Mindfulness had no impact on attention; however, both positive and negative affect decreased for the MM group across the course of the experiment. The results suggest that MM can reduce the focus on negative (and positive) thoughts, indicating possible changes to focused attention, yet a short-term intervention is not sufficient to broaden attention.

26 Brief Psychological Intervention for Distress Reduction in Inpatient Burn Survivors: A Pilot Study

Abstract Introduction It is estimated that 19–45% of hospitalized burns patients exhibit symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTS) during hospitalization, and inpatient distress is linked with poorer functional, psychosocial, and medical prognosis. Despite this, research on psychological intervention for PTS during inpatient treatment for burns remains nascent. The current study developed and pilot-tested a six-session cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for adult inpatients with acute burns. Methods After IRB approval, patients were enrolled in a single verified ABA burn center. Interventions consisted of 6, 50-minute CBT sessions over two weeks. Therapeutic techniques included mindfulness-focused relaxation training, titrated exposure, psychoeducation, and cognitive restructuring. Depression (Beck Depression Inventory II; [BDI]), anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory [BAI]), and PTS (Detailed Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress- PTS-T subscale) were assessed at baseline, 2 weeks, and 6 weeks post-intervention. All data were analyzed in SPSS using Student’s univariate t-tests and Last Observation Carried Forward analysis for missing data at T1. No missing data were imputed for T2 given the high drop-out rate. Results Seventeen adult participants were enrolled (13 female; Mage = 31.7 years, SD = 8.7, range 21–53 years; 35% Hispanic/Latinx; MTBSA = 21.6%, SD = 20.2). Analyses indicated no relation between demographic or study variables and drop-out. Average number of sessions was 4.8 (SD = 1.4). At baseline, participants reported moderate anxiety (M = 23, SD = 12.32), mild depression (M = 14.18, SD = 8.46), and clinically significant posttraumatic stress (M = 72.18, T score = 75, 99th percentile). Comparing baseline to post-intervention, BAI scores decreased, t(16) = 3.76, p = .002, Cohen’s d = .61, whereas BDI scores, t(16) = 1.06, ns, Cohen’s d = .19, and PTS scores, t(16) = 1.03, ns, Cohen’s d = .12, did not change. There were no changes from post-intervention to follow-up in BAI, t(5) = 1.48, ns, Cohen’s d = .43, BDI, t(5) = 1.06, ns, Cohen’s d = .54, or PTS scores (t(5) = .55, ns, Cohen’s d = .12) for the six participants who completed follow-up assessment. TBSA burn was not associated with anxiety, depression, or PTS symptoms at any timepoint. Conclusions Participants reported significant reductions in anxiety, but not PTS or depression symptoms, following a CBT distress-reduction intervention. More generally, the findings of this study point to the potential utility of implementing an early intervention of empirically-based treatment components to help burn survivors manage emotional symptoms following trauma. Applicability of Research to Practice Patients experiencing anxiety may benefit from short-term mindfulness or exposure interventions and more research is needed to understand the trajectory and heterogeneity of PTS symptom relief following acute burns.

The Efficacy of Pharmacotherapy Combined with Short-Term Mindfulness Therapy on the Reduction of Migraine Disability and Improvement of Sleep Quality

The Efficacy of Pharmacotherapy Combined with Short-Term Mindfulness Therapy on the Reduction of Migraine Disability and Improvement of Sleep Quality

The Effect of Short-term Mindfulness Training on Overusing of Cell Phone of College Students

Mindfulness training; Overusing of cell phone; Academic self-efficacy

Alterations of Regional Homogeneity and Functional Connectivity Following Short-Term Mindfulness Meditation in Healthy Volunteers.

Mindfulness is described as the non-judgmental awareness of experiences in the present moment. The sustained practice of mindfulness may also have beneficial effects on an individual’s well-being. For instance, mindfulness meditation is an effective approach for improving emotion regulation. Specifically, the early stage of mindfulness meditation training enhances emotional monitoring systems related to attention regulation and executive function. Reduced activity in the default mode network (DMN) would probably be observed corresponding to the attenuated mind wandering. In the present study, we hypothesized that alterations in functional activity in the frontal-parietal cortex and DMN may be induced by short-term mindfulness meditation. In this study, before and after 8 weeks of weekly Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training, healthy participants were evaluated using a mindfulness questionnaire and an affect schedule, as well as via resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Sixteen right-handed non-meditators were enrolled. Another 16 demographically matched healthy adults without any meditation experience were recruited as controls. Pre- and post-MBSR assessments were compared. Increased regional homogeneity in the right superior parietal lobule and left postcentral gyrus (PoCG), as well as altered functional connectivity in PoCG-related networks, were observed post-MBSR. The mindfulness questionnaire scores also improved and negative affect was significantly decreased after MBSR. Together with reduced involvement of the posterior brain, our results suggest a tendency toward stronger involvement of the parietal cortex in mindfulness beginners. This study provides novel evidence regarding the optimization of emotional processing with short-term mindfulness meditation.

Effect of short-term mindfulness intervention on anxiety and perceptual stress among senior high school students

Objective To explore the internal mechanism of short-term mindfulness intervention in reducing individual anxiety and stress perception. Methods Totally 134 subjects were recruited and randomized into attention group (n=53), acceptance group (n=41) and control group (n=40). Attention group received observation of breathing intervention program, acceptance group received acceptance of negative emotions intervention program and the control group did not intervene mindfulness and read the social science materials of history. Before and after intervention, cancelled tasks were used to stimulate anxiety and stress perception, and self-rating anxiety scale and Chinese perceived stress scale (CPSS) were used to measure anxiety and stress perception level, and the results of cancelled tasks were recorded. Variance analysis and multiple linear regression were used for data statistics. Results The changes of anxiety in attention group and acceptance group((-1.44±2.42)and(-1.06±2.58)) were significantly higher than that in control group(0.08±2.56)(both P 0.05). The attention group had significant predictive effect on anxiety in post-projected cancellative task compared with the control group (t=-2.84, P 0.05). Conclusion Attention and acceptance play different roles in short-term mindfulness training. Attention factor in mindfulness plays a key role in reducing anxiety level in individual tasks. Key words: Mindfulness; Acceptance; Attention; Perceptual stress; Senior high school students

Short-term mindfulness practice attenuates reward prediction errors signals in the brain

Activity changes in dopaminergic neurons encode the ongoing discrepancy between expected and actual value of a stimulus, providing a teaching signal for a reward prediction process. Previous work comparing a cohort of long-term Zen meditators to controls demonstrated an attenuation of reward prediction signals to appetitive reward in the striatum. Using a cross-commodity design encompassing primary- and secondary-reward conditioning experiments, the present study asks the question of whether reward prediction signals are causally altered by mindfulness training in naïve subjects. Volunteers were randomly assigned to 8 weeks of mindfulness training (MT), active control training (CT), or a one-time mindfulness induction group (MI). We observed a decreased response to positive prediction errors in the putamen in the MT group compared to CT using both a primary and a secondary-reward experiment. Furthermore, the posterior insula showed greater activation to primary rewards, independently of their predictability, in the MT group, relative to CT and MI group. These results support the notion that increased attention to the present moment and its interoceptive features - a core component of mindfulness practice - may reduce predictability effects in reward processing, without dampening (in fact, enhancing) the response to the actual delivery of the stimulus.

The effects of a short-term mindfulness meditation intervention on coping flexibility

ABSTRACTBackground and objectives: Mindfulness meditation (MM) training promotes health and well-being. One potential mechanistic link between MM and health may be coping flexibility, (e.g., the ability to monitor and modify coping strategies based on situational needs and strategy effectiveness). We hypothesized that MM training would increase coping flexibility and also explored whether gains in coping flexibility continued to increase after training, or whether they were maintained or lost with time.Methods and design: One hundred thirteen students (71 female, Mage = 18.97) were randomly assigned to a waitlist control or MM condition. Participants in the MM condition were trained by a certified MM instructor and given guided recordings for one-week of at-home practice. Participants provided reports of coping flexibility over a three-week span.Results: Results from multilevel modeling indicated that MM increased coping flexibility among those in the MM condition and among those who spent relatively more time meditating. Results further suggested that the gains in coping flexibility that were evident at post-test were not only maintained but increased in the two weeks after the intervention.Conclusions: This study provides preliminary support for the assertion that MM increases the ability to monitor and modify coping strategies during times of stress.

The Effect of Short-Term Training of Vipassana’s Body-Scan on Select Cognitive Functions

This experiment examined the effect of a short-term body-scan meditation technique of vipassana practice on select cognitive functions. Participants (n = 77) were randomly divided into an experimental group (n = 37) and an active control group (n = 40). The average age of participants in the experimental group and the active control group was 21.67 ± 1.16 and 21.40 ± 3.14 years, respectively. The experimental group practiced body-scan mindfulness, one session per day for 6 days with each session lasting for 25 min. Participants in the active control group spent an equal amount of time reading fiction of their choice and listening to soothing music. Variables that were studied included five cognitive functions, namely reaction time, attention, learning, working memory, and social-emotional cognition. Results showed that short-term mindfulness meditation decreased reaction time and increased attention, with mild effect size. It may be concluded that short-term mindfulness practice might be an alternative for individuals who, due to various reasons, cannot practice long-term courses.

Impact of short- and long-term mindfulness meditation training on amygdala reactivity to emotional stimuli

Meditation training can improve mood and emotion regulation, yet the neural mechanisms of these affective changes have yet to be fully elucidated. We evaluated the impact of long- and short-term mindfulness meditation training on the amygdala response to emotional pictures in a healthy, non-clinical population of adults using blood-oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging. Long-term meditators (N = 30, 16 female) had 9081 h of lifetime practice on average, primarily in mindfulness meditation. Short-term training consisted of an 8-week Mindfulness- Based Stress Reduction course (N = 32, 22 female), which was compared to an active control condition (N = 35, 19 female) in a randomized controlled trial. Meditation training was associated with less amygdala reactivity to positive pictures relative to controls, but there were no group differences in response to negative pictures. Reductions in reactivity to negative stimuli may require more practice experience or concentrated practice, as hours of retreat practice in long-term meditators was associated with lower amygdala reactivity to negative pictures – yet we did not see this relationship for practice time with MBSR. Short-term training, compared to the control intervention, also led to increased functional connectivity between the amygdala and a region implicated in emotion regulation – ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) – during affective pictures. Thus, meditation training may improve affective responding through reduced amygdala reactivity, and heightened amygdala–VMPFC connectivity during affective stimuli may reflect a potential mechanism by which MBSR exerts salutary effects on emotion regulation ability.

Brief Mental Training Reorganizes Large-Scale Brain Networks.

Emerging evidences have shown that one form of mental training—mindfulness meditation, can improve attention, emotion regulation and cognitive performance through changing brain activity and structural connectivity. However, whether and how the short-term mindfulness meditation alters large-scale brain networks are not well understood. Here, we applied a novel data-driven technique, the multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) data to identify changes in brain activity patterns and assess the neural mechanisms induced by a brief mindfulness training—integrative body–mind training (IBMT), which was previously reported in our series of randomized studies. Whole brain rsfMRI was performed on an undergraduate group who received 2 weeks of IBMT with 30 min per session (5 h training in total). Classifiers were trained on measures of functional connectivity in this fMRI data, and they were able to reliably differentiate (with 72% accuracy) patterns of connectivity from before vs. after the IBMT training. After training, an increase in positive functional connections (60 connections) were detected, primarily involving bilateral superior/middle occipital gyrus, bilateral frontale operculum, bilateral superior temporal gyrus, right superior temporal pole, bilateral insula, caudate and cerebellum. These results suggest that brief mental training alters the functional connectivity of large-scale brain networks at rest that may involve a portion of the neural circuitry supporting attention, cognitive and affective processing, awareness and sensory integration and reward processing.

Creativity Is Enhanced by Long-Term Mindfulness Training and Is Negatively Correlated with Trait Default-Mode-Related Low-Gamma Inter-Hemispheric Connectivity

It is becoming increasingly accepted that creative performance, especially divergent thinking, may depend on reduced activity within the default mode network (DMN), related to mind-wandering and autobiographic self-referential processing. However, the relationship between trait (resting-state) DMN activity and divergent thinking is controversial. Here, we test the relationship between resting-state DMN activity and divergent thinking in a group of mindfulness meditation practitioners. We build on our two previous reports, which have shown DMN activity to be related to resting-state log gamma (25–45 Hz) power and inter-hemispheric functional connectivity. Using the same cohort of participants (three mindfulness groups with increasing expertise, and controls, n = 12 each), we tested (1) divergent thinking scores (Flexibility and Fluency) using the Alternative Uses task and (2) correlation between Alternative Uses scores and DMN activity as measured by resting-state gamma power and inter-hemispheric functional connectivity. We found that both Fluency and Flexibility (1) were higher in the two long-term mindfulness groups (>1000 h) compared to short-term mindfulness practitioners and control participants and (2) negatively correlated with gamma inter-hemispheric functional connectivity (frontal-midline and posterior-midline connections). In addition, (3) Fluency was significantly correlated with mindfulness expertise. Together, these results show that long-term mindfulness meditators exhibit higher divergent thinking scores in correlation with their expertise and demonstrate a negative divergent thinking—resting-state DMN activity relationship, thus largely support a negative DMN-creativity connection.

Cognitive effects of MBSR/MBCT: A systematic review of neuropsychological outcomes.

Mindfulness is theorised to improve attention regulation and other cognitive processes. This systematic review examines whether 8-week standardised and manualised mindfulness training programs such as Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) enhances attention, memory and executive function abilities measured by objective neuropsychological tests. Seven databases were searched resulting in 18 studies meeting inclusion criteria for review. Overall studies did not support attention or executive function improvements. We found preliminary evidence for improvements in working memory and autobiographical memory as well as cognitive flexibility and meta-awareness. Short-term mindfulness meditation training did not enhance theorised attentional pathways. Results call into question the theoretical underpinnings of mindfulness, further highlighting the need for a comprehensive theoretical framework.

Short-term mindfulness intervention reduces the negative attentional effects associated with heavy media multitasking.

Recent research suggests that frequently switching between various forms of media (i.e. ‘media multitasking’) is associated with diminished attentional abilities, a disconcerting result given the prevalence of media multitasking in today’s society. In the present study, we sought to investigate the extent to which the deficits associated with frequent media multitasking can be temporarily ameliorated via a short-term mindfulness intervention previously shown to produce beneficial effects on the attentional abilities of normally functioning individuals. Consistent with previous work, we found: (1) that heavy media multitaskers showed generally poorer attentional abilities than light media multitaskers and (2) that all participants showed benefits from the short-term mindfulness intervention. Furthermore, we found that the benefits of the short-term mindfulness intervention were not equivalently large across participants. Instead, these benefits were disproportionately large in the heavy media multitaskers. While the positive outcomes were short-lived, this opens the possibility of performing long-term interventions with the goal of realizing lasting gains in this population.

Effects of short-term mindfulness training on limb motor function of stroke patients with hemiplegia

Objective To explore the short-term mindfulness behavior training on movement function of stroke patients with hemiplegia. Methods A total of 60 stroke patients were divided into two groups randomly, observation group and control group. The patients of control group received conventional rehabilitation therapy, while the patients of observation group received mindfulness training besides this. Before treatment and after 60 days, all patients had accepted the assessment by the Fugl-Meyer motor function scale (FMA), the Pittsburgh sleep quality index scale (PSQI) and self-rating depression scale (SDS). Results After treatment, all patients′ motor function and sleep quality were improved, and degree of depression lowered compared before; the improvement of observation group was better than control group′s (P<0.05). Conclusions Mindfulness behavior training combined with behavioral rehabilitation for stroke patients with hemiplegia has strengthening effect on recover motor function, and provides a reference for exploring the comprehensive rehabilitation therapy. Key words: Stroke; Mindfulness training; Rehabilitation therapy; Hemiplegia

EFFECT OF SHORT-TERM MINDFULNESS INDUCTION ON MYSIDE BIAS AND MISERLY PROCESSING: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

The ability to reflect on one's own information processing appears to be crucial for rationality (Stanovich, 2011). This notion is based on a hypothesis, that only an individual with a certain degree of knowledge of his own cognition might be capable of adequately regulating his reasoning and inhibit various cognitive biases. I propose an approach to gaining knowledge about one's own cognitive processes that is based on mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness can be defined as paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). Developed metacognitive skills are a necessity for a well-performing 'reflective mind' and thus for rational thought. Not only is practice of mindfulness meditation dependent on the development of relevant metacognitive skills and knowledge (Jankowski & Holas, 2014), it also provides means for a better selfknowledge as the mindful awareness draws attention to details of individual's mental life. During a mindfulness meditation, the practitioner also trains his executive functions as he gradually learns how to inhibit mind-wandering and habitual reactions and trains cognitive shifting while trying to focus on changing mental contents (Moore & Malinowski, 2009).These aspects of mindfulness seem to be contrary to preference for lesser cognitive load and thus heuristic processing. While being mindful, one should diligently take notice of passing mental phenomena and regard even seemingly trite experiences with curiosity. This appears to go against the tendency for fast and superficial heuristic processing (miserly processing). Secondly, mindful non-judgmental and decentered perspective (Jankowski & Holas, 2014) might give an individual certain distance from his own beliefs or convictions, which might prove helpful for reducing confirmation/ myside bias. Myside bias in context of this study means the tendency to evaluate information based on beliefs or opinions held by an individual or based on belonging to specific group/status.Therefore, the main rationale for this study was the fact, that possible effects of mindfulness on cognitive biases and human rationality have not been studied so far, with only few exceptions (Emanuel, Updegraff, Kalmbach, & Ciesla, 2010; Hafenbrack, Kinias, & Barsade, 2013) of which one examined merely a relationship with trait mindfulness and found that only one particular facet of mindfulness was related to a degree of biased affective forecasting (Emanuel et al., 2010). Another study (Noone, Bunting, & Hogan, 2016) measuring trait mindfulness found that higher levels of mindfulness are related to critical thinking and executive functions. Yet other studies (Heeren, Van Broeck, & Philippot, 2009; Mrazek, Franklin, Phillips, Baird, & Schooler, 2013; Teper & Inzlicht, 2013) found that mindfulness affects executive functions and these are in turn possibly related to inhibition of cognitive biases, because training of inhibition in mindfulness meditations might help in inhibiting fast heuristic reactions like those measured by the Cognitive Reflection Test (Frederick, 2005).I attempted to examine possible effects of short-term mindfulness induction on the amount of myside bias and tendency for miserly processing. Although the majority of studies have focused on the effects of longterm training of mindfulness, some studies (Arch & Craske, 2006; Hafenbrack et al., 2013; Kiken & Shook, 2011) have found that even short-term mindfulness induction (all studies used 15 minute recorded inductions) might have an effect on various domains. The most relevant finding is related to a reduction in sunk-cost bias (Hafenbrack et al., 2013). The goal of the current study was to find out if short-term mindfulness is suitable as a method to reduce other cognitive biases and thus improve decision-making. Unlike long-term mindfulness training programs (usually lasting for an eight week period), a short-term mindfulness induction, if demonstrated to be effective, might be more practical and thus could be more easily deployed in various commonplace contexts (e. …

Two-Week Web-Based Mindfulness Training Reduces Stress, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms in Individuals with Self-reported Stress: A Randomized Control Trial

The study examined the effects of a short-term web-based mindfulness program. Participants describing themselves as stressed were recruited and a total of 70 participants were randomly assigned to a treatment group (n=35) and a control group (n=35). The mindfulness program included two, 10-minute exercises per day, six days a week, for two weeks. Twenty participants in the treatment group and 34 participants in the control group completed the training. The mean pretest scores indicated that the group was above the cutoff for severe stress on a wellestablished measure (the Perceived Stress Questionnaire). Measures of stress, anxiety and depression symptoms, and a mindfulness questionnaire were administered before, during (after 1 week), and at the end of the treatment (after 2 weeks). The results showed that mindfulness training increased mindfulness skills and reduced levels of perceived stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms (Cohen’s ds>1). No significant changes from pre- to posttest were observed in the wait-list control group. Additionally, increments from pre- to post-test in mindfulness skills were associated with reductions in symptom scores, indicating treatment-specific effects. Together, the results suggest that the brief webbased mindfulness program may serve as an effective means to treat individuals suffering from stress, and motivate further research involving active control groups, alternative forms of web-based treatments as a control, and long-term follow-up of the effects.

Effect of Short-Term Mindfulness Breathing Training on Attention Function and Experiential Avoidance

Effect of Short-Term Mindfulness Breathing Training on Attention Function and Experiential Avoidance