Examining the protective effects of mindfulness training on working memory capacity and affective experience.

Abstract

We investigated the impact of mindfulness training (MT) on working memory capacity (WMC) and affective experience. WMC is used in managing cognitive demands and regulating emotions. Yet, persistent and intensive demands, such as those experienced during high-stress intervals, may deplete WMC and lead to cognitive failures and emotional disturbances. We hypothesized that MT may mitigate these deleterious effects by bolstering WMC. We recruited 2 military cohorts during the high-stress predeployment interval and provided MT to 1 (MT, n ϭ 31) but not the other group (military control group, MC, n ϭ 17). The MT group attended an 8-week MT course and logged the amount of out-of-class time spent practicing formal MT exercises. The operation span task was used to index WMC at 2 testing sessions before and after the MT course. Although WMC remained stable over time in civilians (n ϭ 12), it degraded in the MC group. In the MT group, WMC decreased over time in those with low MT practice time, but increased in those with high practice time. Higher MT practice time also corresponded to lower levels of negative affect and higher levels of positive affect (indexed by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule). The relationship between practice time and negative, but not positive, affect was mediated by WMC, indicating that MT-related improvements in WMC may support some but not all of MT's salutary effects. Nonetheless, these findings suggest that sufficient MT practice may protect against functional impairments associated with high-stress contexts.

Trait mindfulness and autobiographical memory specificity

“…Mindfulness is a state of mind that decreases avoidance and rumination and increases working memory resources. Thus, the increase in specificity following mindfulness training can be explained in terms of a reduction in functional avoidance, capture and rumination, and an increase in executive control (Hargus et al 2010;Heeren et al 2009;Jha, Stanley, Kiyonaga, Wong and Gelfand 2010). This is the first study to investigate whether there is an association between trait mindfulness and memory specificity.…”

A More Rigorous Examination of the Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Working Memory Capacity

“…It is currently an open empirical question as to what specific benefits-if any-are observed after a specific duration of a specific style of mindfulness meditation training using a well-controlled study design (Van Dam et al 2017). Studies with only one session of mindfulness training have shown no cognitive benefits (Banks et al 2015;Johnson et al 2015) whereas studies with longer duration mindfulness training (e.g., 2 to 8 weeks) have shown more robust cognitive benefits (Jha et al 2010(Jha et al , 2017Mrazek et al 2013). As the current study is the first to test the benefits of focused attention mindfulness meditation training on working memory capacity using recommended rigorous criteria (Shipstead et al 2012a, b), observation of any benefit following mindfulness training in the current study can inform future research.…”

“…Mindfulness meditation has also been shown to buffer and protect working memory capacity and working memory performance from decrements due to stress (Jha et al 2010(Jha et al , 2017 and negative affect (Banks et al 2015). While promising, these studies all lacked one or more of the following design criteria: random assignment; comparison to active, adaptive controls; or using multiple, valid measures of working memory capacity.…”

“…This definition includes the core component processes of mindfulness meditation that are common across diverse interventions (e.g., mindfulness-based stress reduction, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy) and practices (e.g., breathing, body scan, and walking meditations) (Isbel and Summers 2017). The cognitive processes involved and presumably strengthened during repeated mindfulness meditation practice have been identified as general processes of the working memory system that manage ongoing task demands, for example, maintaining or reorienting attention to keep task-relevant information in mind Jha et al 2010Jha et al , 2017Kane et al 2007).…”

“…The previously mentioned mindfulness meditation studies that demonstrated working memory capacity improvement have included some or most of these criteria in their study design, but not all. That is, mindfulness meditation is a technique different from tested outcome measures (criteria 3) that has been shown to improve performance on valid (criteria 2), individual measures of working memory capacity and working memory functioning when compared to an active control group (part of criteria 4) (Banks et al 2015;Jha et al 2010;Mrazek et al 2013;Quach et al 2016;Zeidan et al 2010). The main goal of the current study was to more rigorously investigate the efficacy of mindfulness meditation by using, as part of the study design, all of the aforementioned criteria recommended by the reviews of the computerized working memory training literature.…”