Improving neurocognitive efficiency via technology-mediated mindfulness practice: electrophysiological and cognitive evidences

Objective: Focused attention or open monitoring meditation practices may foster the development of focusing and cognitive skills. In particular, mindfulness, by combining those forms of mental practice, might allow for training attention orientation and monitoring thus leading to improved neurocognitive efficiency. Further, it has been suggested that such training can be reinforced and made more accessible even to beginners by supporting practice with wearable brain-sensing devices able to give the practicer a real-time feedback on his/her attentive/distracted mindset. We therefore devised the present study to test the specific potential of a technology-mediated mindfulness intervention for optimizing cognitive performance and improving markers of neural efficiency during mental effort. Participants and Methods: Sixty participants were randomly divided in active control and experimental groups. Groups were involved in structured four-week mental training interventions. Unlike the active control group, experimental ones practiced mindfulness-based activities with the support of dedicated brain-sensing devices. The effect of training was tested by comparing pre- and post-intervention performance at standardized cognitive tasks, as well as resting-state and task-related electrophysiological measures. Results: Data analysis highlighted increased measures of attention allocation (N2 event-related potential) and electrophysiological responsiveness (alpha-blocking metrics) and frequency profiles consistent with a relaxed mindset in the experimental groups. At the end of the intervention, experimental participants also performed better (reduced response times) at computerized tasks tapping on attention and executive control skills. Conclusions: Findings suggest that mindfulness interventions supported by brain-sensing neurofeedback devices may be effective at improving the efficiency of information-processing and regulation of attention/cognitive resources.