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Eight-Week Mindfulness Training Enhances Left Frontal EEG Asymmetry During Emotional Challenge: a Randomized Controlled Trial

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Renlai Zhou at Nanjing University
Renlai Zhou
Lei Liu
Lei Liu
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Mindfulness is defined as nonjudgmental attention to experiences in the present moment. Frontal EEG asymmetry can be considered as a biological indicator of affective style. Up to date, most studies examined how mindfulness training influenced frontal EEG asymmetry at resting baseline; however, few studies investigated how mindfulness training influenced frontal EEG asymmetry during emotional challenge. The present study examined simultaneously how mindfulness training influenced frontal EEG asymmetries at resting baseline and during emotional challenge in non-clinical population. In order to test the effect of mindfulness training, the present study tested the mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) group (n = 16) and the waitlist control (WC) group (n = 20) at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks. A testing phase (baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks) × time point (the first sad film phase, relaxation phase, the second sad film phase, and the meditation intervention phase) × group (MBCT and WC), ANOVA was conducted for the tasking EEG data. The results showed that there was significant testing phase × group interactive effect for frontal EEG asymmetry during emotional challenge. Further analysis showed that frontal EEG asymmetry scores at 8 weeks were lower than at baseline and 4 weeks for the MBCT group but not significant differences for the WC group. However, mindfulness training did not influence frontal EEG asymmetry at resting baseline. Therefore, it is concluded that 8 weeks of mindfulness training can enhance left frontal EEG asymmetry during emotional challenge. These results indicated that frontal EEG asymmetry during emotional challenge may be an index of affective style.
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Eight-Week Mindfulness Training Enhances Left Frontal
EEG Asymmetry During Emotional Challenge: a Randomized
Controlled Trial
Renlai Zhou
1
&Lei Liu
2
Published online: 9 August 2016
#Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract Mindfulness is defined as nonjudgmental attention
to experiences in the present moment. Frontal EEG asymme-
try can be considered as a biological indicator of affective
style. Up to date, most studies examined how mindfulness
training influenced frontal EEG asymmetry at resting base-
line; however, few studies investigated how mindfulness
training influenced frontal EEG asymmetry during emotional
challenge. The present study examined simultaneously how
mindfulness training influenced frontal EEG asymmetries at
resting baseline and during emotional challenge in non-
clinical population. In order to test the effect of mindfulness
training, the present study tested the mindfulness-based cog-
nitive therapy (MBCT) group (n= 16) and the waitlist control
(WC) group (n= 20) at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks. A
testing phase (baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks) × time point
(the first sad film phase, relaxation phase, the second sad film
phase, and the meditation intervention phase) × group (MBCT
and WC), ANOVA was conducted for the tasking EEG data.
The results showed that there was significant testing
phase × group interactive effect for frontal EEG asymmetry
during emotional challenge. Further analysis showed that
frontal EEG asymmetry scores at 8 weeks were lower than
at baseline and 4 weeks for the MBCT group but not signifi-
cant differences for the WC group. However, mindfulness
training did not influence frontal EEG asymmetry at resting
baseline. Therefore, it is concluded that 8 weeks of mindful-
ness training can enhance left frontal EEG asymmetry during
emotional challenge. These results indicated that frontal EEG
asymmetry during emotional challenge may be an index of
affective style.
Keywords Mindfulness training .Frontal EEG asymmetry .
Emotional challenge .Resting baseline .EEG
Introduction
Mindfulness is typically defined as nonjudgmental attention to
experiences in the present moment (Bishop et al. 2004; Kabat-
Zinn 1994). A large body of research has documented the
efficacy of mindfulness training in the treatment of clinical
disorders, including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eat-
ing disorders, and chronic pain (Bowen et al. 2006;Garland
et al. 2010;Kabat-Zinn1982; Kabat-Zinn, Lipworth, and
Burney 1985; Kabat-Zinn et al. 1992; Kristeller, Baer, and
Quillian-Wolever 2006; Shapiro et al. 2003; Teasdale et al.
2000). Until recently, not only has mindfulness training suc-
cessfully been used in the treatment of disorders but it has also
been shown to produce positive effects on psychological well-
being and to strength the individuals’capacity for emotional
regulation (Brown, Ryan, and Creswell 2007; Shapiro et al.
2006).
Increasing evidence suggests that mindfulness and its
psychological aspects are related to emotional regulation
processes. Ortner, Kilner, and Zelazo (2007) showed that in-
dividuals with 7 weeks of mindfulness training showed a re-
duction in emotional interference from unpleasant images
compared with relaxation meditation training or no interven-
tion, and both mindfulness training and relaxation meditation
training resulted in lower skin conductance responses to
*Renlai Zhou
rlzhou@nju.edu.cn
1
Department of Psychology, School of Social and Behavioral
Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
2
Department of Psychology, College of Teacher Education, Ningbo
University, Ningbo, China
Mindfulness (2017) 8:181–189
DOI 10.1007/s12671-016-0591-z
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Evidence has emerged demonstrating the utility of MBIs for regulating neurophysiological characteristics in the alpha frequency, primarily for asymmetry measures. Researchers have reported a fluctuation in EEG asymmetry scores reflecting a leftward shift in activity in adult samples [43,44] and a similar reduction in right frontal alpha asymmetry following a mindfulness-based cognitive training in young adults [45]. To date, there have been fewer investigations of alpha power and coherence changes as a function of mindfulness training, however researchers have observed increased alpha power in frontal and central areas as well as increased frontal-parietal alpha connectivity in preadolescent children [8]. ...
... The inclusion of a matched-size control group would have enabled a more definitive conclusion regarding the observed effects of mindfulness on the outcome measures, also ruling out confounding factors. Still, it should be noted that past mindfulness investigations have also excluded a control group and observed important effects [44], and Hawthorne effects (related to within-subject designs) are less concerning in neurocognitive investigations due to the objective and subconscious nature of data collection. Additionally, the initial analysis of the data collected from the small sample of waitlisted students did not show changes in any of the measures from baseline to post-intervention. ...
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... There have also been previous studies that arranged the first part of the training as FA meditation. For example, the first four weeks of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) training are mainly FA meditation, and the last four weeks are mainly open monitoring (OM) meditation (Williams & Penman, 2011;Zhou & Liu, 2017). This solution will increase the learning cost for the practitioner to learn Zhiyi's method. ...
... The methods of loving-kindness meditation practiced by the participants in this study were "reflection" and "aspiration." Zhou & Liu (2017) assessed EEG prefrontal alpha asymmetry before and after eight weeks of MBCT practice and suggested that frontal EEG asymmetry during an emotional challenge may be an index of affective style. ...
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... There have been quite a few studies with adult samples with promising results in the past; an EEG study examined the influence of 8 weeks of mindfulness training on frontal EEG asymmetry. Results showed that frontal EEG asymmetry scores at 8 weeks were significantly higher than frontal EEG asymmetry scores at baseline and at 4 weeks during emotional challenges, providing neural evidence of the positive impacts of mindfulness in emotion regulation (Zhou & Liu, 2017). Other research found that guided mindfulness meditation increased relative left frontal asymmetry, indicating a neural pattern of increased approach motivation of high-risk depressed patients (Keune, Bostanov, Hautzinger, & Kotchoubey, 2013; for contrary results, see also: (Keune, Bostanov, Hautzinger, & Kotchoubey, 2011;Szumska, Gola, & Rusanowska, 2020). ...
... Previous research has found that high trait mindfulness was associated with adaptive emotion regulation, which may lead to an increased function in frontal regions (Davidson et al., 2003). Also, mindfulness training led to greater left (relative to right) asymmetry during emotional challenge by increasing the activation of frontal regions regarding emotional control and executive function (Zhou & Liu, 2017). The current study expands previous studies by showing that a higher level of mindfulness might not only promote the early recognition of emotional stimuli (Galla et al., Note. ...
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... Our novel reappraisal training effects on the frontal EEG alpha asymmetry response match previous findings that CBT increased left frontal activation or decreased right frontal activation in patients and controls, with this shift in frontal asymmetry also linked to better affective functioning in daily life (asymmetry at rest: Kang et al., 2019;Moscovitch et al., 2011; asymmetry during emotional challenge: Rabe et al., 2008;Zhou & Liu, 2017). Greater left frontal activation post-training and hence, greater approach motivation may also enable greater habitual reappraisal use in real-life statistics situations, as has been shown by behavioral studies (O'Connor et al., 2014;Taubitz et al., 2015). ...
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... Some studies showed that mindfulness-based intervention was more effective in controlling anxiety symptoms in people with anxiety disorders (89-91). Mindfulness-based intervention can also reduce symptoms associated with major depressive disorder and increase an individual's interest in life, thereby promoting increased motivation (92). Finally, some brain imaging studies have also found possible effects of mindfulness interventions on brain function. ...
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... Thus, training-based differences in alpha asymmetry may be more apparent during emotional challenges than during rest (Keune et al., 2011). To date, only three studies have examined whether MT, using the MBCT program, alters state FAA (Keune et al., 2011(Keune et al., , 2013Zhou & Liu, 2017). In all three studies (two non-experimental, one experimental), brain activity was measured after rather than during emotional challenge (e.g., sad mood induction). ...
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... Even though the relation of FAA and depression may be only of small magnitude and use of FAA as a biomarker of depression seems too farfetched (56), frontal EEG asymmetry may be used as index of emotion regulation capability (57). For instance, a shift toward left asymmetry induced by mindfulness training was associated with improved responses during emotional challenges (58). In an EEG emotion regulation paradigm, individuals with higher capacity for reappraisal showed more left-lateralized (ventro) lateral PFC activation (59). ...
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... The difference was that the intervention effect of MDI on young adults was better than that on the elderly. [20] Recent experiments among children between 7 and 10 years of age had also shown that mindfulness interventions based on Buddhist concepts may be an effective way to reduce mood disorders at the neurophysiological level. Research [21] showed that after MBI, the α-coherence of EEG in children's cerebral cortex was significantly enhanced, especially in the frontal and central regions. ...
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... Meditation can also influence the patterns of electrical activity in the brain (for a review, see Lee et al., 2018). It has been reported in a plethora of studies that low-and high-frequency waves of the power spectrum change considerably in response to meditative practices (e.g., Andreu et al., 2019;Zhou & Liu, 2017). For example, Thomas et al. (2014) identified that experienced yoga meditators show substantial up-regulation in beta and gamma frequencies in the right insular cortex, right inferior frontal gyrus, and right anterior temporal lobe during the practice of meditation. ...
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