Mental Training Affects Distribution of Limited Brain Resources
Heleen A. Slagter, Antoine Lutz, Lawrence L. Greischar, Andrew D Francis, Sander Nieuwenhuis, James M. Davis, Richard J. Davidson
PLoS Biology May 4, 2007 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0050138 via OpenAlex
Summary
Intensive meditation training reduces the attentional blink—a phenomenon where a second target in a rapid stream is often missed when it appears shortly after a first target. Three months of daily mental practice led to a smaller attentional blink and decreased brain-resource allocation to the first target, measured by a smaller P3b brain potential. Individuals with the largest reduction in resource allocation to the first target showed the greatest improvement in detecting the second target. These findings indicate that mental training enhances control over limited attentional resources and supports lifelong brain plasticity.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Controlled experiment Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Meditation mental training |
| Duration | 3 months |
| Keywords | Attentional blink Cognitive psychology Task project management Attentional control P3b |
| Citations | 762 |
| Key finding | Three months of intensive meditation training reduced the attentional blink and decreased brain-resource allocation to the first target, as indexed by a smaller P3b potential. |
Abstract
The information processing capacity of the human mind is limited, as is evidenced by the so-called "attentional-blink" deficit: When two targets (T1 and T2) embedded in a rapid stream of events are presented in close temporal proximity, the second target is often not seen. This deficit is believed to result from competition between the two targets for limited attentional resources. Here we show, using performance in an attentional-blink task and scalp-recorded brain potentials, that meditation, or mental training, affects the distribution of limited brain resources. Three months of intensive mental training resulted in a smaller attentional blink and reduced brain-resource allocation to the first target, as reflected by a smaller T1-elicited P3b, a brain-potential index of resource allocation. Furthermore, those individuals that showed the largest decrease in brain-resource allocation to T1 generally showed the greatest reduction in attentional-blink size. These observations provide novel support for the view that the ability to accurately identify T2 depends upon the efficient deployment of resources to T1. The results also demonstrate that mental training can result in increased control over the distribution of limited brain resources. Our study supports the idea that plasticity in brain and mental function exists throughout life and illustrates the usefulness of systematic mental training in the study of the human mind.