Effect of Brief Meditation Intervention on Attention: An ERP Investigation

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that a brief meditation session can enhance attention and executive control, as evidenced by behavioral improvements and neurophysiological changes in ERP components in non-meditators.

Contribution

It provides novel evidence that short meditation practices positively affect attention and neural resource allocation in novices, using ERP measures.

Findings

Improved response time and accuracy in Stroop task after meditation

Increased P200 and P300 ERP components post-intervention

Decreased N200 component indicating reduced conflict processing

Abstract

Fast and efficient strategies for modulation of attention have been extensively studied recently. The present study has attempted to observe the effect of brief meditation practices on executive control of the attention system. The study recruits cognitive control by introducing conflict using Stroop task in twenty-six novice participants. Behavioral responses indicate a positive effect on response time and accuracy at Stroop task after ten minutes of meditation intervention. Neurophysiological findings suggest more efficient allocation of attentional resources. An increase in positive ERP components (P200, P300) and expected decrease in the inhibitory or negative component (N200) after intervention shows positive results. The findings suggest a positive impact of meditation intervention on attention even for brief periods in non-meditating population.