No Sustained Attention Differences in a Longitudinal Randomized Trial Comparing Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction versus Active Control

MacCoon (2014) · No Sustained Attention Differences in a Longitudinal Randomized Trial Comparing Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction versus Active Control · Read the paper

MacCoon and colleagues used a visual continuous performance task to test the effects of eight weeks of mindfulness training on sustained attention. They compared Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction with a structurally equivalent active control, the Health Enhancement Program, in a randomised longitudinal design with a non-clinical sample. Earlier studies had linked meditation training to better cognitive control and attention. The title reports the main finding: no sustained attention differences between the two programmes.

MacCoon and colleagues used a visual continuous performance task to test the effects of eight weeks of mindfulness training on sustained attention. They compared Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction with a structurally equivalent active control, the Health Enhancement Program, in a randomised longitudinal design with a non-clinical sample. Earlier studies had linked meditation training to better cognitive control and attention. The title reports the main finding: no sustained attention differences between the two programmes.

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MacCoon, D. G., MacLean, K. A., Davidson, R. J., Saron, C. D., & Lutz, A. (2014). No Sustained Attention Differences in a Longitudinal Randomized Trial Comparing Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction versus Active Control. PLoS ONE, 9(6), e97551. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0097551.