Psychophysiological effects of a brief mindfulness-based intervention in healthy young adults
Mindfulness-based training have been used to facilitate more adaptative mechanisms aimed to reduce anxiety, depression, stress, and improve attention regulation, emotions and enhance quality of life. The present study integrates variables related to sustained attention, interoception, affect and stress response in young adults submitted to a three-day training using a mindfulness-based training. The aim of this study is to understand the mechanism by which the mindfulness meditation practice acts acutely regarding to the variables approached. Electrophysiological, hormonal and behavioral data were collected in two moments, pre and post intervention, in an active control group (n= 20) and an experimental group (n= 20) Our results suggest a difference between groups related to interoception, mindfulness and sustained attention after training. These results are represented through psychological measures and analysis of event-related potentials in one well validated attention task. In addition, intragroup analyzes suggest reduction of anxiety, increased interoceptive sensitivity and state of mindfulness after intervention in the experimental group. Moreover, the data shows lower negative affect and perceived stress in both groups after intervention. In this sense, it is suggested that the brief mindfulness-based intervention impacts on the cognitive performance regarding to an attentional test, with decrease of latency and increase of amplitude of the P300 component. Besides that, increased state of mindfulness, interoception and decrease in the levels of negative affect and perceived stress are also important results consistent with previous findings related to more traditional interventions using mindfulness meditation in a variety of populations