Single-Session Focused Attention Meditation Versus Mind-Wandering: A functional near‐infrared spectroscopy study on Cognitive Control
Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Focused-attention meditation (FAM) is expected to affect cognitive-control networks, yet evidence for brief, single-session effects is scarce. This pre–post experiment investigated whether a 15-minute FAM, delivered with minimal external guidance to meditation novices, regulates behavior and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activity compared with an unguided mind-wandering (MW) active control. Eighteen adults completed color–word Stroop tasks while functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was equipped to monitor cortical activation. Analyses examined reaction time (RT) and brain activity. No significant group × time interactions emerged for either behavioral or neural measures. However, a significant effect of time was found for the behavioral measures and for left DLPFC activation, though both effects may be attributable to other factors rather than intervention-specific changes. Both groups showed overall faster RTs, which suggests a practice effect. Overall, as implemented here, a brief, minimally guided FAM session did not produce selective advantages over an unguided MW control.
Author: Bornström, Villiam
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7079899742