This study examines the effects of mindfulness meditation on long-term memory and theta brain wave oscillations. Students will be randomly assigned to either a meditation group or a control group. Both groups will complete a source memory task with EEG recordings before and after the intervention. The meditation group will undergo a four-week mindfulness meditation course while the control group will be on a waitlist. It is expected that the meditation group will show greater improvement on the memory task and increased theta activity compared to the control group.

1. C
ontrol
M
editation
0
5
10
15
ChangeinMemory
TaskScore(percent)
Model of Expected Results:
Change in Source Memory Task Score
P < 0.05
*
Behavioral Results
• Both meditation and control groups will show improved source memory
task scores, but the meditation group will show greater improvement.
Theta Results
• Theta oscillations will be greater for old than new items for both groups,
and the meditation group will show increased theta activity compared
to controls.
Goals
• The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of mindfulness
meditation on long-term memory and theta oscillations.
Subjects
• All subjects will be meditation-naïve students.
Meditation vs. Control Group
• Subjects will perform baseline source memory task with EEG recordings
to measure theta activity
• Meditation group will then undergo a four-week mindfulness meditation
course, while the control group is on a waitlist.
• Post-intervention source memory task with EEG recordings will allow us
to compare differences in the two groups’ memory scores and theta
oscillations.
Source Memory Task
• A source memory task tests episodic memory recollection by requiring
subjects to recall the context in which an item was learned.
Encoding:
• Subjects will be shown a series of 100 words, and for each one, they will
either rate how pleasant it is or imagine a place associated with it.
Retrieval:
• Subjects will be shown 200 words (50 pleasant words, 50 place words,
100 new words)
• They select whether it is an old pleasant word, an old place word, or a
new word, thus requiring them to recall contextual information
(episodic memory).
Meditation Intervention
• 4-week mindfulness meditation course.
• 1-hour training session at the beginning of each week (taught by
professional instructor trained in MBSR)
• During the rest of the week, subjects will practice mindfulness
meditation for at least 20 minutes each day
Pleasant”
Place”
Model of Expected Results During Retrieval:
Theta Power for New vs. Place vs. Pleasant
Correct Rejections Hits Place Hits Pleasantness
Previous Research on the Effects of Meditation
Working Memory
• Increased activation of the prefrontal cortex (Zeidan, In Press)
• Improved working memory, visuo-spatial processing, and executive functioning
after just four days of mindfulness meditation training (Zeidan et al., 2010)
Grey Matter Volume
• Higher hippocampal gray matter density (Holzel, 2011)
EEG Recordings: Theta Oscillations
• Increased theta oscillation amplitudes (Cahn and Polich, 2006)
• Theta oscillations promote selective encoding and retrieval of episodic memories
(Nyhus and Curran, 2010).
[Meditation]
Comparison of theta
oscillation between
meditation and
control groups
[Control]
Theta oscillation differences between
(Cahn et al., 2013) Meditation and Control groups
INTRODUCTION
REFERENCES
Aftanas, L. I. and S. A. Golocheikine (2002). Non-linear dynamic complexity of the human EEG during meditation. Neurosci Lett 330(2):
143-146.
Cahn, B. R. and J. Polich (2006). Meditation states and traits: EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies. Psychol Bull 132(2): 180-211.
Cahn, B. R., A. Delorme and J. Polich (2013). Event-related delta, theta, alpha and gamma correlates to auditory oddball processing
during Vipassana meditation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 8(1): 100-111.
Holzel, B. K., J. Carmody, M. Vangel, C. Congleton, S. M. Yerramsetti, T. Gard and S. W. Lazar (2011). Mindfulness practice leads to
increases in regional brain gray matter density. Psychiatry Res 191(1): 36-43.
Joshi, A. A. (2007). Effects of meditation training on attentional networks : a randomized controlled trial examining psychometric and
electrophysiological (EEG) measures.
Mrazek, M. D., M. S. Franklin, D. T. Phillips, B. Baird and J. W. Schooler (2013). Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory
Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering. Psychological Science.
Nyhus, E. and T. Curran (2010). Functional role of gamma and theta oscillations in episodic memory. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 34(7):
1023-1035.
Zeidan, F. (in press). The neurobiology of mindfulness meditation The Handbook of Mindfulness. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Zeidan, F., S. K. Johnson, B. J. Diamond, Z. David and P. Goolkasian (2010). Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: evidence of
brief mental training. Conscious Cogn 19(2): 597-605.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my advisor, Erika Nyhus, and the rest of my labmates in the Nyhus Lab.
This project is supported by funds from Bowdoin Life Sciences Research Fellowship.
Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
Andrew Engel and Erika Nyhus
Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Long-Term Memory
Mindfulness meditation is the practice of self-regulating the mind
and/or body to recognize undesired thoughts and exercise cognitive
control to shift attention away from these distractions.
This results in clearer attention and awareness of the present moment.
https://s-media-cache-
ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2b/3c/92/2b3c926ca81d0120b0
METHODS EXPECTED RESULTS
(AftanasandGolocheikine,2002)
(modeled after results from Nyhus and Curran, 2010)
(Mrazek et al., 2013)
Increases in hippocampal gray mater concentration after an 8-week
mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course (Holzel et al., 2011)
(Holzel et al., 2011)
(Nyhus and Curran, 2010)
Control Meditation