Augmenting complex and dynamic performance through mindfulness-based cognitive training: an investigation of on-task EEG dynamics.

Abstract

Mindfulness-based cognitive training exhibits great propensity for improving cognitive performance across a range of contexts. However, the neurophysiological basis of these cognitive enhancements has remained relatively unclear. Previous studies have widely examined EEG during mindfulness practice - or made comparisons with long-term meditators and controls - but have failed to capture how EEG dynamics in subsequent cognitive testing scenarios might be altered as a function of mindfulness-based interventions. The current study therefore aimed to assess a variety of EEG dynamics (oscillatory, aperiodic, and event-related) during engagement in a dynamic and complex cognitive task, following a mindfulness-based cognitive training regime. Participants (n = 40, age range = 18 - 38) attended the lab on two separate occasions (pre- and post-a web-based one-week mindfulness intervention), where EEG was recorded during engagement in the Target Motion Analyst (TMA) task. Previous analysis of the same participants demonstrated that greater adherence to the mindfulness-based cognitive training was associated with improved performance on the TMA task (Dziego, Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Schlesewsky et al., 2024). Here, we capitalise on these previous findings to assess whether adherence is paralleled by measurable differences in on-task EEG dynamics. Linear mixed-effects modelling demonstrated that, while main effects were observed across session, adherence to cognitive training was not directly associated with alpha power, theta power or 1/f parameters. Challenges also arose when computing event-related potentials (ERPs), illustrating the difficulties of using this technique in more complex testing environments. While these results are challenging to place within the context of previous EEG studies on meditation and cognitive performance, our findings highlight the complexities in understanding the cognitive benefits of mindfulness-based training interventions through EEG dynamics observed during subsequent cognitive testing.