Using mindfulness-based intervention to promote executive function in young children: a multivariable and multiscale sample entropy study.
Sha Xie, Shuqi Lu, Jiahao Lu, Chaohui Gong, Chunqi Chang
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) September 3, 2024 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae330
Summary
Mindfulness-based interventions significantly enhance executive function in young children, as shown by a study involving 68 participants aged around 5 years. After training, the intervention group (37 children) exhibited reduced brain complexity across all executive tasks, indicating more efficient neural processing. Notable differences were observed in key brain regions associated with cognitive shifting and working memory when compared to the control group (31 children). These findings underscore the potential of mindfulness practices to positively influence early brain development and cognitive regulation in children.
Abstract
Early childhood marks a pivotal period in the maturation of executive function, the cognitive ability to consciously regulate actions and thoughts. Mindfulness-based interventions have shown promise in bolstering executive function in children. This study used the functional near-infrared spectroscopy technique to explore the impact of mindfulness-based training on young children. Brain imaging data were collected from 68 children (41 boys, aged 61.8 ± 10.7 months) who were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (N = 37, aged 60.03 ± 11.14 months) or a control group (N = 31, aged 59.99 ± 10.89 months). Multivariate and multiscale sample entropy analyses were used. The results showed that: (1) brain complexity was reduced in the intervention group after receiving the mindfulness-based intervention in all three executive function tasks (ps < 0.05), indicating a more efficient neural processing mechanism after the intervention; (2) difference comparisons between the intervention and control groups showed significant differences in relevant brain regions during cognitive shifting (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and medial prefrontal cortex) and working memory tasks (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), which corroborates with improved behavioral results in the intervention group (Z = -3.674, P < 0.001 for cognitive shifting; Z = 2.594, P < 0.01 for working memory). These findings improve our understanding of early brain development in young children and highlight the neural mechanisms by which mindfulness-based interventions affect executive function. Implications for early intervention to promote young children's brain development are also addressed.