Does mindfulness-based intervention improve cognitive function?: A meta-analysis of controlled studies

Im, Sungjin; Stavas, Julie; Lee, Jung-Eun; Mir, Zareen; Hazlett-Stevens, Holly; Caplovitz, Gideon P.

doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2021.101972

Cited by 68 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Consistent with these notions, a meta-analysis found that age did not moderate one session of mindfulness in a sample of individuals ages 18-65 (Gill et al, 2020). Similarly, three meta-analyses focused on participants ages 18-59 (Im et al, 2021), healthy adults (Verhaeghen, 2021), or youth under age 18 (Zoogman et al, 2015) found that age did not moderate the effects of multiple session MBIs on a wide range of attention, cognitive functioning and psychological well-being domains. However, one other meta-analysis in youth below age 19 showed that the impact of MBIs on objective attention and EF increased with age, yet younger children could still derive attention or EF benefits from mindfulness practices (Dunning et al, 2019).…”

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confidence: 83%

“…At the same time, other meta-analyses that did not focus solely on RCTs of MBIs in youths (Zoogman et al, 2015) and adults (Eberth & Sedlmeier, 2012;Im et al, 2021) found no moderator effects for treatment duration or number of sessions when examining attention, EF, other higher-order cognitive functioning, and related variables as endpoints. Thus, we tested if and how treatment duration and number of sessions would moderate the effect of MBI RCTs on various cognitive functioning outcomes across diverse individuals.…”

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confidence: 94%

“…Consistent with this idea, clinically-disordered youth showed greater gains from controlled and uncontrolled MBIs on various subjective and behavioral attention outcomes than their relatively healthy counterparts (see meta-analysis by Zoogman et al, 2015). However, another meta-analysis of 25 nonrandomized and RCTs in young and middle-aged adults did not support this hypothesis (Im et al, 2021), necessitating further test of the moderating role of clinical status within RCTs across the age span.…”

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confidence: 97%

“…For example, continually engaging in MBI-based skills (e.g., FA, OM, somatic awareness, diaphragmatic breathing), led to enhancements on somewhat unique measures of cognitive functioning beyond attentional regulation (e.g., work performance; Lippelt, Hommel, & Colzato, 2014;Malinowski & Shalamanova, 2017). Quantitative reviews have shown that effects can extend beyond attention to global EF in youth (Dunning et al, 2019;Zoogman, Goldberg, Hoyt, & Miller, 2015) and adults (Im et al, 2021;Yakobi, Smilek, & Danckert, 2021). Likewise, MBIs positively impacted both attention subsystems, and EF facetsinhibition (ability to effortfully refrain from autopilot response tendencies), shifting (capacity to fluently switch back and forth between distinct thinking modes), and WM (Verhaeghen, 2021).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Such standard protocols have received the most extensive documented efficacy for individuals with stress-related, medical, or psychological problems (Alsubaie et al, 2017;Cramer, Lauche, Paul, & Dobos, 2012;Parsons, Crane, Parsons, Fjorback, & Kuyken, 2017;Zhang, Zhao, & Zheng, 2019). Moreover, meta-analyses that combined non-randomized and MBI RCTs showed that standard (vs. non-standard) MBIs led to more enhanced psychological well-being, mindfulness, attention, and cognitive functioning (Eberth & Sedlmeier, 2012) as well as greater effect on global EF (Im et al, 2021). This pattern of results was replicated in another recent meta-analysis that selected only MBI RCTs (Yakobi et al, 2021).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Mindfulness Enhances Cognitive Functioning: A Meta-Analysis of 111 Randomized Controlled Trials

Zainal¹,

Newman²

2020

Preprint

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Background: The past 30 years have witnessed growing scientific interest regarding the impact of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on cognitive functions. Several theories propose that habitually exercising mindfulness skills can improve cognitive abilities, but no comprehensive quantitative reviews of the effect of MBIs on global and unique cognitive domains exist to date. Method: This systematic review thus examined the effects of MBI on global cognitive ability (GCA) and 16 specific cognitive domains. MBI randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that administered cognitive tests pre- and post-treatment were included. Open-trials, non-randomized MBIs, and case-control studies were excluded. Keywords included “mindful*,” AND “executive attention (EA),” OR “working memory (WM).” Robust variance estimation and moderator analyses were conducted. Results: Ninety-five RCTs (n = 7,408) met eligibility criteria. MBI (vs. waitlist or no-treatment) had small-to-moderate significant effects on GCA, WM accuracy, inhibition accuracy and latency, EA, sustained attention accuracy, processing speed, and subjective attentional control (SAC) (g = 0.24 – 0.52). Likewise, MBI (vs. active control) had small-to-moderate positive effects on GCA, orienting, EA, WM accuracy, sustained attention (indexed by intra-individual coefficient of variation), and SAC (average g = 0.17 – 0.41). Age, gender, study quality, treatment duration, publication year, retention, statistical analysis, and country, moderated some treatment effects. Publication bias analyses showed that reliable treatment effects were restricted to EA, WM accuracy, inhibition accuracy, sustained attention, and SAC, depending on the control group. Conclusion: MBIs confer notable neuropsychological benefits and dose-response effects on some specific (vs. global) cognitive domains. Limitations, theoretical, and applied implications are discussed. (Note: This paper has not been peer reviewed. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission.)

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