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Mindfulness and Training Attention

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Handbook of Mindfulness and Self-Regulation

Abstract

Mindfulness meditation depends heavily on brain areas involved in executive attention. Imaging studies of executive attention reveal a brain network that includes the anterior cingulate, anterior insula, and striatum. This brain network is responsible for the resolution of conflict and is more generally critical to self-regulation. The efficiency of the executive network can be improved by two forms of training. One form involves sustained practice on the conflict tasks that activate this network. A second form involves changing one’s brain state through the use of mindfulness meditation, as captured in Integrative Body-Mind Training. In this chapter, we first briefly introduce the attentional networks and then discuss the two forms of training. In the latter case, we also discuss the downstream effects of training on improving attention, emotion and stress regulation, and reduction of some forms of psychopathology.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research N000141110034. We thank the editors for insightful comments and Rongxiang for manuscript preparation input.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA

    Yi-Yuan Tang

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA

    Michael I. Posner

Authors
  1. Yi-Yuan Tang
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Correspondence to Yi-Yuan Tang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Brian D. Ostafin

  2. Department of Psychology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA

    Michael D. Robinson

  3. Department of Psychology, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA

    Brian P. Meier

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Tang, YY., Posner, M.I. (2015). Mindfulness and Training Attention. In: Ostafin, B., Robinson, M., Meier, B. (eds) Handbook of Mindfulness and Self-Regulation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2263-5_3

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