From a young age, people learn the importance of paying attention to the environment around them. Less emphasized is the value of paying attention to their inner environment. Neuroscientists are increasingly studying how looking inward via mindfulness training can affect everything from depression and memory to stress levels and aging. As researchers work to uncover the neural mechanisms underlying these brain changes, they hope to elucidate best practices for people who want to incorporate mindfulness in their lives.
“Attentional training is a mechanism by which you can train your brain,” says Erika Nyhus of Bowdoin College, who is chairing a session with new research on mindfulness at the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society (CNS) in Toronto. “Work to understand the neural mechanisms at play in this mindfulness training show potential pathways toward enhanced cognition but there are no short-cuts. It takes practice.”
The cognitive neuroscientists presenting their latest findings at CNS 2024 are excited about the potential benefits of mindfulness training not only to individuals but also to researchers exploring the roots of cognition in the brain. Together, their research suggests that individual differences in sensory and cognitive processing in our brains can both predict mental health and be amenable to training through new technological applications.