(Davis &Hayes, 2012)
Interestingly, while some research points to the conclusion that mindfulness meditation offers numerous advantages, others show methodological limitations and negative results, conceivably reflecting variances in study design, study duration and patient versus non patient participating populations.
More specifically, research on mindfulness has identified the following …show more content…
In one study, for example, Mrazek et al. (2012) asked 48 undergraduate students who were randomly assigned to either participate in a 2-week mindfulness-training course or a nutrition class taught by professionals. After the course, the meditation group had significantly higher working memory capacity and a superior reading comprehension on the GRE compared with the control group. Additionally, both long-term mediators and individuals who completed the two weeks of mindfulness training experienced a reduction in mind wandering and a reduced activation of the default network, a collection of brain regions that characteristically indicate greater activation at rest than during externally directed cognitive tasks. In addition, the meditators had significantly better working memory capacity and were better able to sustain attention during a performance task compared with the control