Mindfulness training alters emotional memory recall compared to active controls: support for an emotional information processing model of mindfulness
Objectives: While mindfulness-based interventions have received widespread application in both clinical and non-clinical populations, the mechanism by which mindfulness meditation improves well-being remains elusive. One possibility is that mindfulness training alters the processing of emotional inf...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2012-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00015/full |
| _version_ | 1818035561158410240 |
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| author | Doug eRoberts-Wolfe Doug eRoberts-Wolfe Doug eRoberts-Wolfe Matthew eSacchet Matthew eSacchet Matthew eSacchet Elizabeth eHastings Elizabeth eHastings Elizabeth eHastings Harold eRoth Harold eRoth Harold eRoth Willoughby eBritton Willoughby eBritton |
| author_facet | Doug eRoberts-Wolfe Doug eRoberts-Wolfe Doug eRoberts-Wolfe Matthew eSacchet Matthew eSacchet Matthew eSacchet Elizabeth eHastings Elizabeth eHastings Elizabeth eHastings Harold eRoth Harold eRoth Harold eRoth Willoughby eBritton Willoughby eBritton |
| author_sort | Doug eRoberts-Wolfe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives: While mindfulness-based interventions have received widespread application in both clinical and non-clinical populations, the mechanism by which mindfulness meditation improves well-being remains elusive. One possibility is that mindfulness training alters the processing of emotional information, similar to prevailing cognitive models of depression and anxiety. The aim of this study was to investigating the effects of mindfulness training on emotional information processing (i.e. memory) biases in relation to both clinical symptomatology and well-being in comparison to active control conditions.Methods: Fifty-eight university students (28 female, age = 20.1 ± 2.7 years) participated in either a 12-week course containing a "meditation laboratory" or an active control course with similar content or experiential practice laboratory format (music). Participants completed an emotional word recall task and self-report questionnaires of well-being and clinical symptoms before and after the 12-week course.Results: Meditators showed greater increases in positive word recall compared to controls F(1, 56) = 6.6, p = .02). The meditation group increased significantly more on measures of well-being [F(1, 56) = 6.6, p = .01], with a marginal decrease in depression and anxiety [(F(1, 56) = 3.0, p = .09)] compared to controls. Increased positive word recall was associated with increased psychological well-being [r = 0.31, p = .02] and decreased clinical symptoms [r = -0.29, p = .03].Conclusion: Mindfulness training was associated with greater improvements in processing efficiency for positively valenced stimuli than active control conditions. This change in emotional information processing was associated with improvements in psychological well-being and less depression and anxiety. These data suggest that mindfulness training may improve well-being via changes in emotional information processing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T06:57:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e2dd542ee00f49a1817f09d9e35ea9ac |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T06:57:00Z |
| publishDate | 2012-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-e2dd542ee00f49a1817f09d9e35ea9ac2022-12-22T01:58:25ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612012-02-01510.3389/fnhum.2012.0001518088Mindfulness training alters emotional memory recall compared to active controls: support for an emotional information processing model of mindfulnessDoug eRoberts-Wolfe0Doug eRoberts-Wolfe1Doug eRoberts-Wolfe2Matthew eSacchet3Matthew eSacchet4Matthew eSacchet5Elizabeth eHastings6Elizabeth eHastings7Elizabeth eHastings8Harold eRoth9Harold eRoth10Harold eRoth11Willoughby eBritton12Willoughby eBritton13Brown UniversityBrown UniversityMedical University of South CarolinaBrown UniversityBrown UniversityStanford University School of MedicineBrown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown UniversityObjectives: While mindfulness-based interventions have received widespread application in both clinical and non-clinical populations, the mechanism by which mindfulness meditation improves well-being remains elusive. One possibility is that mindfulness training alters the processing of emotional information, similar to prevailing cognitive models of depression and anxiety. The aim of this study was to investigating the effects of mindfulness training on emotional information processing (i.e. memory) biases in relation to both clinical symptomatology and well-being in comparison to active control conditions.Methods: Fifty-eight university students (28 female, age = 20.1 ± 2.7 years) participated in either a 12-week course containing a "meditation laboratory" or an active control course with similar content or experiential practice laboratory format (music). Participants completed an emotional word recall task and self-report questionnaires of well-being and clinical symptoms before and after the 12-week course.Results: Meditators showed greater increases in positive word recall compared to controls F(1, 56) = 6.6, p = .02). The meditation group increased significantly more on measures of well-being [F(1, 56) = 6.6, p = .01], with a marginal decrease in depression and anxiety [(F(1, 56) = 3.0, p = .09)] compared to controls. Increased positive word recall was associated with increased psychological well-being [r = 0.31, p = .02] and decreased clinical symptoms [r = -0.29, p = .03].Conclusion: Mindfulness training was associated with greater improvements in processing efficiency for positively valenced stimuli than active control conditions. This change in emotional information processing was associated with improvements in psychological well-being and less depression and anxiety. These data suggest that mindfulness training may improve well-being via changes in emotional information processing.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00015/fullMemorymindfulnesswellbeingemotional information processing |
| spellingShingle | Doug eRoberts-Wolfe Doug eRoberts-Wolfe Doug eRoberts-Wolfe Matthew eSacchet Matthew eSacchet Matthew eSacchet Elizabeth eHastings Elizabeth eHastings Elizabeth eHastings Harold eRoth Harold eRoth Harold eRoth Willoughby eBritton Willoughby eBritton Mindfulness training alters emotional memory recall compared to active controls: support for an emotional information processing model of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience Memory mindfulness wellbeing emotional information processing |
| title | Mindfulness training alters emotional memory recall compared to active controls: support for an emotional information processing model of mindfulness |
| title_full | Mindfulness training alters emotional memory recall compared to active controls: support for an emotional information processing model of mindfulness |
| title_fullStr | Mindfulness training alters emotional memory recall compared to active controls: support for an emotional information processing model of mindfulness |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mindfulness training alters emotional memory recall compared to active controls: support for an emotional information processing model of mindfulness |
| title_short | Mindfulness training alters emotional memory recall compared to active controls: support for an emotional information processing model of mindfulness |
| title_sort | mindfulness training alters emotional memory recall compared to active controls support for an emotional information processing model of mindfulness |
| topic | Memory mindfulness wellbeing emotional information processing |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00015/full |
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