Mental Training Affects Resource Use
Author Information
Author(s): Slagter Heleen A, Lutz Antoine, Greischar Lawrence L, Francis Andrew D, Nieuwenhuis Sander, Davis James M, Davidson Richard J
Primary Institution: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Hypothesis
Three months of intensive Vipassana meditation training would produce significant changes in attentional processing.
Conclusion
Intensive mental training can improve the ability to allocate attention efficiently, resulting in better detection of visual targets.
Supporting Evidence
- Three months of intensive meditation reduced the attentional blink size.
- Practitioners showed a significant improvement in detecting the second target in an attentional-blink task.
- Brain activity indicated reduced resource allocation to the first target after meditation training.
Takeaway
Meditation helps your brain focus better, so you can see things more clearly, even when they happen close together in time.
Methodology
Participants performed an attentional-blink task while their brain activity was recorded, comparing practitioners of meditation to novices.
Potential Biases
Self-selection of practitioners may introduce bias in results.
Limitations
The study did not control for prior meditation experience among practitioners, which varied widely.
Participant Demographics
17 practitioners (7 male, median age 41) and 23 novices (9 male, median age 41).
Statistical Information
P-Value
p = 0.029
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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