Impacts of Mindfulness Meditation on Episodic Memory: A Review of Recent Studies

Mindfulness meditation has been shown to affect veridical memory (Basso et al., 2019; Brown et al., 2016; Lloyd et al., 2016; Lueke & Lueke, 2019; Lykins & Baer, 2012; Nyhus et al., 2019; Shemesh et al., 2023). The following section provides a comprehensive review of studies using various memory paradigms and comparing beginner and expert meditators, beginner meditators after a multi-week program, or after a one-time short mindfulness induction.

A few comparative studies that compared beginner and expert meditators and controlled additional demographic variables, such as age, showed better free recall and recognition memory for expert meditators (Lykins & Baer, 2012; Shemesh et al., 2023). One study carefully matched non-meditators and meditators on a wide variety of demographic variables, including age, education, and mental disorders (Lykins & Baer, 2012). While meditators scored higher on one measure of long-term memory, long-delay free recall, they did not score higher on long-delay cued recall or working memory. It is possible that the lack of differences between the non-meditator control and meditator groups could be due to how well they were demographically matched. Another comparative study matched non-meditators and meditators on age alone and found significant differences in both mindfulness traits and memory (Shemesh et al., 2023). Meditators reported higher trait mindfulness and lower anxiety, higher autobiographical vividness and specificity, and enhanced performance in a picture recognition test. No difference between the meditator and control groups was observed in a narrative memory test.

Longitudinal studies that trained novices on mindfulness meditation over the course of 4–8 weeks also showed beneficial effects on memory (Basso et al., 2019; Nyhus et al., 2019). In one longitudinal study, beginner meditators were asked to either listen to 13-min podcast segments or 13-min meditations. After four weeks, no significant effects were found; however, after eight weeks, the subjects improved their recognition memory performance, as tested using the hippocampal-dependent Mnemonic Similarity Task (Basso et al., 2019). Because the hippocampus is associated with episodic memory, and previous research has reported greater gray matter concentration in the hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex for long-term meditators, this finding suggests that 4–8 weeks is enough time for a meditation practice to cause changes in the brain. In another longitudinal study on beginner meditators that lasted only four weeks, we found positive impacts on episodic memory. We also found that theta power, previously associated with episodic memory and meditative states, increased following mindfulness meditation training (Nyhus et al., 2019). Specifically, the left parietal channels and the right frontal channels, which are areas associated with episodic memory, showed increases in theta oscillatory power in the meditation group but not in the waitlist control group.

Finally, induction studies typically administer memory tests following a single mindfulness induction, usually with beginner meditators. In some cases, these inductions are extremely short—down to just three minutes (Lloyd et al., 2016). Even this 3-min mindfulness induction led to improved memory test performance when it was done before the encoding of word lists. Another study replicated the finding that a brief mindfulness induction improved memory through recognition and free-recall tests (Brown et al., 2016). Importantly, both of these studies were conducted with beginner meditators, suggesting that even a very short mindfulness session could have positive impacts on memory. Another mindfulness induction study found that ten minutes of mindfulness reduced encoding errors when the induction happened prior to encoding only (Lueke & Lueke, 2019). Although the control group had significantly more encoding errors than the mindfulness group, selective attention and attention switching were both unaffected. Therefore, it seems that attention may not always explain improvements in memory performance. However, regardless of the methods employed, comparative, longitudinal, or short induction, all of these studies show that mindfulness leads to an improvement in memory. Although mindfulness meditation has generally been shown to have positive effects on veridical memory, a recent study showed no relationship between trait mindfulness or an effect of mindfulness induction on episodic memory (Namias & Huff, 2024).

An important element of episodic memory which has been fairly well studied is false memory. False memories may be distorted true memories or completely fabricated. Most of these studies employ the DRM paradigm, which allows for creating conditions for false memories in a lab setting (Roediger & McDermott, 1995). The DRM paradigm consists of showing subjects a list of words which are all linked to a related “target word” and then a recognition test that includes the original words, new unrelated words, and the target word. False memory is measured by how often subjects say that they recognize that the target word was previously presented. In the context of mindfulness studies, false memories are a unique way to learn more about how mindfulness impacts the cognitive mechanisms of memory (Levi & Rosenstreich, 2019). If mindfulness practice only impacts semantic processing, more false memories are likely to occur; conversely, if mindfulness practice impacts higher-order metacognitive memory control, it would more likely reduce false memories. This is because semantic memory may not be as consciously controlled as higher-order metacognitive processes (Rosenstreich & Ruderman, 2017; Yeh & Lu, 2017). In addition to the DRM paradigm, another common procedure is the “Remember-Know-Guess” or “Remember-Know” procedure, where familiarity can be separated from recollection of words in a list and false alarms (Rosenstreich & Ruderman, 2016).

Studies using the DRM paradigm have shown conflicting results on the effect of mindfulness induction on false memories (Baranski & Was, 2017; Bitton et al., 2023; Calvillo et al., 2018; Meeks et al., 2019; Sherman & Grange, 2020; Wendt et al., 2021; Wilson et al., 2015). One study using the DRM paradigm to study false memories showed that subjects in a mindfulness induction group were significantly more likely to have false memories of target words after an induction (Wilson et al., 2015). This finding was consistent across three different sub-experiments. The authors interpreted their finding in terms of the source-monitoring framework; false memories of target words resulted from failing to distinguish between internal and external sources of a memory. Another study replicated this finding, using both focused attention and open monitoring mindfulness meditation styles (Bitton et al., 2023). However, the positive impacts of mindfulness on attention, which is important for source-monitoring, suggest that mindfulness should lead to improvements in source-monitoring and decreased false memories. The mind-wandering state used as a control in the Wilson et al. (2015) study was challenged by a study that found that mindfulness and mind-wandering activate overlapping states of mind (Sherman & Grange, 2020). In addition, four other studies were also unable to replicate Wilson et al.’s (2015) finding (Baranski & Was, 2017; Calvillo et al., 2018; Meeks et al., 2019; Wendt et al., 2021). Using a body scan mindfulness intervention, one study found that meditation reduced delayed correct and false recognition (24 h later) but did not impact immediate recall (Wendt et al., 2021). In another study, mindfulness induction resulted in fewer false target word recalls, suggesting that mindfulness decreases false memories (Baranski & Was, 2017). A reduction of false memories was also found in the context of negative mood and lure words, and was again interpreted in terms of the source-monitoring framework (Meeks et al., 2019). They found that a mindfulness induction after encoding reduced false recognition of target words; in addition, subjects were less likely to deem a test item as old. Signal detection analyses showed that a mindfulness intervention after encoding decreased a liberal response bias, which decreased false memories.

Additional studies on false memories have also shown conflicting results (Ayache et al., 2022; Lloyd et al., 2016; Qi et al., 2018; Rosenstreich & Ruderman, 2016, 2017). A study on adolescents who participated in an 8-week mindfulness program found increased false alarms (Qi et al., 2018). In an interview after a “target event,” the mindfulness group had reduced accuracy at retrieval and more non-specific errors in incorrect responses than the control group. In addition, a study on pictorial memories using a virtual environment found no impact of mindfulness on false memories, although mindfulness did increase memory sensitivity (Ayache et al., 2022). However, two studies found that both trait mindfulness and mindfulness induction reduced false alarms (Rosenstreich & Ruderman, 2016, 2017). Notably, even brief mindfulness inductions of just 3 min before retrieval have been found to reduce false alarms for lure words (Lloyd et al., 2016). These results suggest that the mindfulness state affects the decision-making process during retrieval, rather than at encoding. Therefore, it is still unclear what impact mindfulness meditation has on false memories. By extension, it is also unclear whether mindfulness impacts lower-level semantic processing or higher-order metacognitive processes or both. One study found that trait mindfulness is related to both increased and decreased false memories, suggesting that mindfulness both activates semantic information and improves source monitoring (Yeh & Lu, 2017).

Mindfulness meditation practices are commonly prescribed for depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions, as it is well-known that mindfulness can have a positive impact on subjective well-being (Alberts & Thewissen, 2011; Roberts-Wolfe et al., 2012). Meditation has also been found to decrease rumination in patients with underlying depression (van Vugt et al., 2012). Clinicians are often more focused on effectiveness than mechanisms (Van Dam et al., 2017). However, understanding the mechanisms for clinically effective mindfulness treatments may lead to new applications, especially as it relates to memory.

Patients with depression often show an impairment in episodic memory. Impairment in episodic memory in patients with depression can usually be split into two categories. First, depression is often linked with a decrease in memory specificity; memories tend to be overgeneralized and overly negative. In addition, there is often an increase in negative attention bias, and negative memories are recalled better than positive ones. However, forgetting some negative events is associated with long-term well-being (Alberts & Thewissen, 2011). One neural correlate of depression is “hypofrontality,” where the prefrontal cortex lacks sufficient activation, causing damage to the hippocampus (Roberts-Wolfe et al., 2012; van Vugt et al., 2012). This hippocampal damage is likely what leads to the negative memory bias and impaired episodic and autobiographical memory seen in patients with depression (van Vugt et al., 2012).

One possible mechanism for improvement in well-being and mental health symptoms due to mindfulness is changes in memory processes. One study found that a 12-min mindfulness intervention resulted in remembering a significantly lower proportion of negative words in a post-induction verbal learning test (Alberts & Thewissen, 2011). This finding has been replicated in similar studies. An 8-week mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) program also found that subjects with recurrent depression were less likely to pause during negative word recall, showing that they were less likely to get stuck in a negative mental context (van Vugt et al., 2012). An 8-week mindfulness-based intervention program for adverse childhood experience (ACE) survivors also resulted in improvements in episodic memory, and benefits for hippocampal volumes observed via MRI (Joss et al., 2024).

In addition to depression, there has been an interest in clinical applications of mindfulness for memory loss in older adults. Age-related cognitive impairment usually first negatively affects episodic memory (Lekhak et al., 2020). One hypothesis is that mindfulness practice may not improve memory but may be protective against further decline (Jha et al., 2010; Whitfield et al., 2022). It is also possible that meditation leads to adult neurogenesis (Tang et al., 2015). In one study comparing the impacts of meditation and prayer on episodic memory in older adults, meditation did not have a significant effect on episodic memory, while prayer did (Lekhak et al., 2020). However, meditation data were only collected once, and subjects were not asked about their meditation practice. Similarly, trait meditation capacity did not have any impact on episodic memory, as tested through free recall tests (Requier et al., 2023). However, this study did not require subjects to engage in mindfulness practice. Finally, a recent study found a positive effect of meditation on healthy older adults’ prospective memory, which depends on episodic memory, although they did not directly study episodic memory (Tsang et al., 2024). Therefore, mindfulness may be beneficial for improving memory in some clinical populations.

The search strategy employed for this review was limited. We identified papers initially through a database search using search terms, but in order to identify all of the relevant papers, we also included papers cited in those results. In addition, papers were screened manually to meet our inclusion criteria, focusing on recent papers studying mindfulness and episodic memory. Therefore, the search strategy is not fully replicable or exhaustive, and there was potential for bias in the selection of papers.

Although the research reviewed here has shown some promising effects of mindfulness on episodic memory, more robust and unbiased research is needed. As mentioned, mindfulness meditation length and practices as well as memory paradigms vary, and the construct of mindfulness is often measured with subjective self-reports, making it difficult to interpret the results and draw strong conclusions. Future research should use more standardized methods for more accurate comparison across studies. It is likely that different lengths of meditation practice and different types of meditations have different impacts on memory (Levi & Rosenstreich, 2019). Future research should compare different mindfulness lengths (e.g., longitudinal studies vs. induction and long vs. short induction) and practices (e.g., focused attention, open monitoring, and MBSR) to determine their effect on memory processes. In addition, the construct of mindfulness should be measured with validated measures. Finally, because most researchers have used a convenience sample of college-aged subjects, who tend to have generally good memory functioning already (Brown et al., 2016; Nyhus et al., 2019), the results do not generalize to broader populations. The use of more standardized methods in younger and older adults would allow for comparison of effects across age groups. Importantly, more studies on the impacts of mindfulness in older adults are necessary to understand the effects of mindfulness on memory decline.

In addition, future research should focus on brain region activation, particularly cross-region activation, as it relates to mindfulness and episodic memory (Tang et al., 2015). While there are some robust behavioral techniques used, such as the DRM, the preponderance of behavioral studies over brain imaging techniques limits understanding of the mechanisms underlying these effects. Only one study reviewed combined behavior and neural activity to study the effects of mindfulness on episodic memory (Nyhus et al., 2019). Future research should combine behavior with fMRI or EEG and utilize advanced analysis methods. For example, researchers should use fMRI and EEG to determine the effects of mindfulness on functional activity in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus and theta oscillations thought to be involved in the top-down control of memory. Multivariate pattern analysis with fMRI or EEG data would provide a more detailed understanding of the changes in brain activity during episodic memory related to mindfulness. In addition, resting state connectivity analysis and network analysis could show how mindfulness practices affect the default mode network, which overlaps with the memory network. Finally, combining mindfulness meditation practice with neurofeedback or non-invasive brain stimulation to the frontal-parietal-medial temporal lobe memory network would allow us to understand whether these techniques can enhance the effects of mindfulness meditation practice on episodic memory. The mechanistic understanding gained from combining behavior with neuroimaging techniques would have clinical applications, informing mindfulness treatments for depression and memory decline in aging.