| dc.description.abstract | The work of Mrazek et. al (2013) and Quach et. al (2016) demonstrated that WM performance and capacity could be improved through a consistent mindfulness practice. Taken together with the work of Holzel et. al (2001) and Gray and Braver (2002), who demonstrated the activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) during mindfulness meditation and working memory tasks, respectively, a link between working memory and mindfulness meditation is established. However, no one has explored how mindfulness meditation impacts the WM processing of different sensory inputs. This research analyses the potential impact of a two-week Mindfulness Meditation intervention on multiple working memory (WM) sensory modalities (i.e. auditory, identity, and visuo-spatial). The results of this study do not support claims of enhanced cognitive performance or improved health measures. The experimental and control groups in this study did not differ in any meaningful way in overall working memory, working memory subsystems, or their physiological measures. So, we posit that the two-week Mindfulness Meditation course, which differed from previous research, was not an effective intervention to elicit major change in cognitive performance, or improved health measures. | |
