scholarly journals Toward Determinants and Effects of Long-Term Mindfulness Training in Pre-Adolescence: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Event-Related Potentials

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-83
Author(s):  
Lena Wimmer ◽  
Dusana Dorjee

The present study presents the first attempt at investigating long-term mindfulness training in pre-adolescence, adopting an integrative neurodevelopmental approach. Pupils with an established mindfulness practice (n = 33) were compared with mindfulness-inexperienced pupils (n = 20) on dispositional mindfulness, executive functioning (EF), emotion regulation, and well-being. We also investigated whether increased well-being in mindfulness-experienced pre-adolescents would be mediated by EF and emotion regulation. Moderating influences of the amount and enjoyment of mindfulness training were considered as well. Self-report questionnaires measured dispositional mindfulness and well-being. Parents assessed their child's emotion-regulation using the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC). Performance in a Continuous Performance Task and simultaneously recorded event-related potentials (ERPs)—Cue-P3, CNV, Nogo-N2, Nogo-P3—indexed EF. Interestingly, the two groups of pupils did not differ in their dispositional mindfulness. ERP findings revealed that the mindfulness-experienced group demonstrated superior EF in terms of response inhibition, but inferior EF in terms of cue processing. Although the ERC negativity/lability subscale revealed an advantage for the mindfulness-experienced group, no group differences were observed for the ERC emotion regulation subscale or well-being. Mediation analysis results did not support the assumption that mindfulness training leads to increased well-being via improvements in EF and emotion regulation. While outcomes were not moderated by amount of mindfulness practice, enjoying mindfulness was negatively associated with indicators of well-being and EF.

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (18) ◽  
pp. 9800-9807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alva Tang ◽  
Haley Crawford ◽  
Santiago Morales ◽  
Kathryn A. Degnan ◽  
Daniel S. Pine ◽  
...  

Does infant temperament predict adult personality and life-course patterns? To date, there is scant evidence examining relations between child temperament and adult outcomes, and extant research has relied on limited methods for measuring temperament such as maternal report. This prospective longitudinal study followed a cohort of infants (n = 165) for three decades to examine whether infant behavioral inhibition, a temperament characterized by cautious and fearful behaviors to unfamiliar situations, shapes long-term personality, social relationships, vocational/education, and mental health outcomes in adulthood. At age 14 mo, behavioral inhibition was assessed using an observation paradigm. In adolescence (15 y; n = 115), error monitoring event-related potentials were measured in a flanker task. In adulthood (26 y; n = 109), personality, psychopathology, and sociodemographics were self-reported using questionnaires. We found that infants with higher levels of behavioral inhibition at 14 mo grew up to become more reserved and introverted adults (β = 0.34) with lower social functioning with friends and family (β = −0.23) at age 26. Infant behavioral inhibition was also a specific risk factor for adult internalizing (i.e., anxiety and depression, β = 0.20) psychopathology, rather than a transdiagnostic risk for general and externalizing psychopathology. We identified a neurophysiologic mechanism underlying risk and resilience for later psychopathology. Heightened error monitoring in adolescence moderated higher levels of adult internalizing psychopathology among behaviorally inhibited individuals. These findings suggest meaningful continuity between infant temperament and the development of adult personality. They provide the earliest evidence suggesting that the foundation of long-term well-being is rooted in individual differences in temperament observed in infancy.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Rosen ◽  
Jennifer Potter

BACKGROUND Mindfulness training may improve quality of life (QoL) among women diagnosed with breast cancer, yet barriers associated with instructor-facilitated training (eg, cost, location, time) may limit uptake. Self-directed mindfulness training using smartphone apps may overcome these barriers. However, little is known about who may be most likely to engage in app-based mindfulness training (AMT) interventions. OBJECTIVE We examined baseline predictors of app engagement among women diagnosed with breast cancer (≤5 years) enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a commercially available AMT intervention (Headspace). METHODS Participants (n=57) received AMT as part of a 12-week RCT. Headspace was available for download from iTunes or Google Play. Participants were asked to complete app registration using a unique activation code and complete ≥ 1 mindfulness session; this was defined as “minimum dose.” Overall, AMT engagement was self-guided. Participants completed baseline measures of QoL (FACT-B), dispositional mindfulness (MAAS), pain severity and interference (BPI-sf), and demographics. Log data was obtained from the app developers at the end of the study. AMT engagement was characterized by: attaining minimum dose, number of mindfulness sessions completed, and duration (minutes) of overall mindfulness practice. RESULTS Overall, 34 participants completed app registration and ≥1 mindfulness session (minimum dose). Over the 12-week trial, the median number of mindfulness sessions completed was 11.50 with a range of 1-87 sessions completed. Median duration of overall mindfulness practice was 115 minutes, with a range of 10-1411 minutes. Participants who attained minimum dose had greater baseline physical well-being (mean 20.74 [SD 5.67]) compared to those who did not have any recorded engagement with AMT (mean 16.43 [SD 8.15]; t[36.2]=-2.20, P=.04). Pain severity was lower for participants who attained minimum dose (mean 3.12 (SD 1.69]) compared to those who did not (mean 4.61 [SD 2.05]; t[29]=2.20, P=.04). Other domains of QoL, dispositional mindfulness, pain-related interference, and demographics did not differ between groups. Among those who attained minimum dose, only pain-related interference was associated with fewer mindfulness sessions completed (P=.05). CONCLUSIONS App engagement was not recorded for slightly fewer than half of participants (ie, did not complete registration and ≥1 mindfulness session). Although reasons for non-adherence are unclear, findings suggest physical well-being and pain-related factors may be associated with participant AMT engagement. Given mindfulness practice time is associated with mindfulness skills uptake, future studies should explore approaches to optimize AMT engagement among participants with greater physical well-being and pain-related concerns.


Author(s):  
Brittany C. Speed ◽  
Greg Hajcak

Emotion dysregulation is a common feature of many psychological disorders. To date, however, most research evaluating emotion regulation has been limited to self-report assessments. Event-related potentials (ERPs) are well suited to disentangle discrete aspects of emotional processing that are critical to understanding both healthy and aberrant emotional functioning. This chapter focuses on a particular ERP component, the late positive potential (LPP), and reviews evidence that the LPP is modulated by emotional content and is sensitive to various emotion regulation strategies. Next, studies leveraging the LPP to examine individual differences in emotional processing in the context of psychopathology are reviewed. Finally, this chapter discusses methodological limitations of past research and current gaps in our understanding, including suggestions for future research using ERPs to study emotion dysregulation.


2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne L. Howson ◽  
Sue Batth ◽  
Vadim Ilivitsky ◽  
Armand Boisjoli ◽  
Martine Jaworski ◽  
...  

AbstractEvidence from pre-clinical infrahuman investigations, open-label clinical trials, and a single controlled trial found acute nicotine treatment potentiated up to 4 weeks neuroleptic-induced reductions of dyskinetic symptoms characterizing Tourette’s syndrome (TS). Given the attentional disturbances associated with this syndrome, and the improvements in attentional processes reported with nicotine, this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial examined the acute (4 h) and sustained (2 weeks) effects of a single dose of transdermal nicotine on clinical (i.e., tics), attentional (continuous performance task, event-related potentials, patient and parental reports) and behavioral symptoms in 23 children and adolescents with TS receiving neuroleptic treatment. In the 14 evaluable patients with complete primary efficacy data, nicotine (compared to placebo) failed to alter symptoms at 4 h but counteracted ERP-P300 signs of diminished attention seen 2 weeks following placebo treatment. Secondary efficacy measures, including patient self-reports and parental ratings, found nicotine to reduce complex tics and improve behaviors related to inattention. Additional work with intermittent dosing schedules is required to characterize optimal clinical and cognitive effects with nicotine treatment.


Author(s):  
Peter Warr

Prominent among frameworks of well-being is the Vitamin Model, which emphasizes nonlinear associations with environmental features. The Vitamin Model has previously been described through average patterns for people in general, but we need also to explore inter-individual variations. For presentation, those differences can either be viewed generically, based on divergence in age, personality and so on, or through short-term episodes of emotion regulation, such as through situation-specific attentional focus and reappraisal. Both long-term and short-term variations are considered here.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louisa G Sylvia ◽  
Mitchell R Lunn ◽  
Juno Obedin-Maliver ◽  
Robert N McBurney ◽  
W Benjamin Nowell ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Mindfulness can improve overall well-being by training individuals to focus on the present moment without judging their thoughts. However, it is unknown how much mindfulness practice and training are necessary to improve well-being. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to compare standard with brief mindfulness training to improve overall well-being. METHODS Participants were recruited from 17 Patient-Powered Research Networks, online communities of stakeholders interested in a common area of research. Participants were randomized to either a standard 8-session mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT) or a brief 3-session mindfulness training intervention accessed online. Participants were followed for 12 weeks. The primary outcome of the study was well-being as measured by the World Health Organization (WHO)-5 Index. We hypothesized that MBCT would be superior to brief mindfulness training. RESULTS We randomized 4,411 participants, 88% of whom were white and 80% female sex assigned at birth. Baseline WHO-5 score mean was 50.3 (SD = 20.7). Average self-reported well-being in each group increased over the intervention period (baseline to 8 weeks) (model-based slope [95% CI] for MBCT group: 0.78 [0.63, 0.93]; brief mindfulness group: 0.76 [0.60, 0.91]) as well as the full study period (i.e., intervention plus follow-up; baseline to 20 weeks) (model-based slope [95% CI] for MBCT group: 0.41 [0.34, 0.48]; brief mindfulness group: 0.33 [0.26, 0.40]). Change in self-reported well-being was not statistically significantly different between MBCT and brief mindfulness during the intervention period (model-based difference in slopes [95% CI]: -0.02 [-0.24, 0.19], P = .80) or during the intervention period plus 12-week follow-up (-0.08 [-0.18, 0.02], P = .10). During the intervention period, younger participants (P = .05) and participants who completed a higher percentage of intervention sessions (P = .005) experienced greater improvements in well-being across both interventions, effects that were stronger for participants in the MBCT condition. CONCLUSIONS Standard MBCT improved well-being but was not superior to a brief mindfulness intervention. Younger patients and those able to complete more training sessions improved the most. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03844321, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03844321


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