Brief mindfulness meditation training reduces mind wandering: The critical role of acceptance.

Abstract

Mindfulness meditation programs, which train individuals to monitor their present moment experience in an open or accepting way, have been shown to reduce mind-wandering on standardized tasks in several studies. Here we test two competing accounts for how mindfulness training reduces mind-wandering, evaluating whether the attention monitoring component of mindfulness training alone reduces mind-wandering or whether the acceptance training component is necessary for reducing mind-wandering. Healthy young adults (N=147) were randomized to either a 3-day brief mindfulness training condition incorporating instruction in both attention monitoring and acceptance, a mindfulness training condition incorporating attention monitoring instruction only, a relaxation training condition, or a reading control condition. Participants completed measures of dispositional mindfulness and treatment expectancies before the training session on Day 1 and then completed a 6-minute Sustained Attention Response Task (SART) measuring mind-wandering after the training session on Day 3. Acceptance training was important for reducing mind-wandering, such that the monitoring + acceptance mindfulness training condition had the lowest mind-wandering relative to the other conditions, including significantly lower mind-wandering relative to the monitor-only mindfulness training condition. In one of the first experimental mindfulness training dismantling studies to-date, we show that training in acceptance is a critical driver of mindfulness training reductions in mind-wandering. This effect suggests that acceptance skills may facilitate emotion regulation on boring and frustrating sustained attention tasks that foster mind-wandering, such as the SART.

Mindfulness Improves Brain Computer Interface Performance by Increasing Control over Neural Activity in the Alpha Band

“…In fact, reductions in neural noise, such as mind-wandering, are generally cited to explain why experienced mindfulness practitioners display enhanced abilities on tasks that probe attention Slagter et al 2009;MacLean et al 2010;Schoenberg et al 2014;Colzato et al 2015;Fox et al 2016;Ziegler et al 2019). The significant difference in the ability to follow the breath between the experimental and control groups subsequent to the MBSR intervention confirms previous reports that mindfulness is associated with reductions in mind wandering and the significant correlation between the ability to up-regulate alpha power during BCI control and breath counting accuracy suggests the MBSR participants may be engaging in meditative practices during the volitional rest trials of BCI control (Mrazek et al 2012a;Levinson et al 2014;Rahl et al 2017).…”

“…Alterations in the structure and function of sensorimotor cortex might require more meditation experience to develop (Fox et al 2014. Alternatively, cuing the rest condition could promote minimeditations leading to reduced mind wandering only during rest trials where transfer learning would be expected to be strongest (Mrazek et al 2012b;Rahl et al 2017).…”

“…For example, expert meditators display greater alpha power during rest, a trait associated with greater BCI proficiency (Cahn and Polich 2006;Blankertz et al 2010). Increases in alpha power have also been observed following the recognition of mind wandering, which mindfulness programs train individuals to monitor and may additionally reflect a learned ability to inhibit task irrelevant activity (Klimesch et al 2007;Jensen and Mazaheri 2010;Braboszcz and Delorme 2011a;Mathewson et al 2011;Roux and Uhlhaas 2014;Clayton et al 2015;Rahl et al 2017).…”

Scaffolding imagination: A role for medial frontal cortex in the expression of off-task thought

“…This hypothesis is based on evidence that measures such as fluid intelligence [11] and attentional control [12,13] are linked to reductions in the occurrence of TUT, especially in highly demanding externally-oriented tasks. Other studies have explored how we improve task focus through mental training or instruction [14][15][16].…”

“…This hypothesis is based on evidence that measures such as fluid intelligence [11] and attentional control [12,13] are linked to reductions in the occurrence of TUT, especially in highly demanding externally-oriented tasks. Other studies have explored how we improve task focus through mental training or instruction [14][15][16].Although these data explain how we maintain focus on external tasks, they do not make clear those processes that facilitate the expression of thoughts unrelated to events in the here and now [9,10]. A comprehensive account of off task experiences requires an understanding of how they are generated, and how we shape this processes in line with our goals and desires [10].…”