Dispositional Mindfulness and Inhibitory Control after Perceiving Neutral, Food and Money Related Stimuli.

Previous studies have shown that dispositional mindfulness is positively associated with cognitive performance, including the ability to stop behavioral actions (formally called inhibitory control). However, some studies suggest that the relationship may be context dependent. The current study addressed previous limitations and focused on the role of reward context regarding the relationship between mindfulness and inhibitory control. Seventy-five participants (31 men, 44 women) between 18-50 years old (M = 30, SD = 9) were included in the final sample. Participants filled out a self-report measure of mindfulness and performed a stop signal task with three conditions that varied in terms of reward context. In the neutral condition, go stimuli (stimuli to which a response was required) were letters; in the food and money condition, these were pictures of food and money, respectively. Results showed that inhibitory control was reduced in the money condition relative to the neutral condition (p = 0.012). Mindfulness was positively correlated with inhibitory control, but only in the money condition (p = 0.001). However, results might differ when inhibitory control is required while perceiving a learned reward-related stimulus. The latter represents an open question for future research.

Mindfulness Practice with a Brain-Sensing Device Improved Cognitive Functioning of Elementary School Children: An Exploratory Pilot Study.

This is the first pilot study with children that has assessed the effects of a brain-computer interface-assisted mindfulness program on neural mechanisms and associated cognitive performance. The participants were 31 children aged 9-10 years who were randomly assigned to either an eight-session mindfulness training with EEG-feedback or a passive control group. Mindfulness-related brain activity was measured during the training, while cognitive tests and resting-state brain activity were measured pre- and post-test. The within-group measurement of calm/focused brain states and mind-wandering revealed a significant linear change. Significant positive changes were detected in children's inhibition, information processing, and resting-state brain activity (alpha, theta) compared to the control group. Elevated baseline alpha activity was associated with less reactivity in reaction time on a cognitive test. Our exploratory findings show some preliminary support for a potential executive function-enhancing effect of mindfulness supplemented with EEG-feedback, which may have some important implications for children's self-regulated learning and academic achievement.

Flexibility in autism during unpredictable shifts of socio-emotional stimuli: Investigation of group and sex differences.

LAY ABSTRACT: Flexibility difficulties in autism might be particularly common in complex situations, when shifts (i.e. the switch of attentional resources or strategy according to the situation) are unpredictable, implicit (i.e. not guided by explicit rules) and the stimuli are complex. We analyzed the data of 101 autistic and 145 non-autistic adults, without intellectual deficiency, on two flexibility tasks performed online. The first task involved unpredictable and non-explicit shifts of complex socio-emotional stimuli, whereas the second task involved predictable and explicit shifts of character stimuli. Considering the discrepancies between laboratory results and the real-life flexibility-related challenges faced by autistic individuals, we need to determine which factor could be of particular importance in flexibility difficulties. We point out that the switch cost (i.e. the difference between shift and non-shift condition) was larger for autistic than for non-autistic participants on the complex flexibility task with unpredictable and non-explicit shifts of socio-emotional stimuli, whereas this was not the case when shifts were predictable, explicit and involved less complex stimuli. We also highlight sex differences, suggesting that autistic females have better social skills than autistic males and that they also have a specific cognitive profile, which could contribute to social camouflaging. The findings of this work help us understand which factors could influence flexibility difficulties in autism and are important for designing future studies. They also add to the literature on sex differences in autism which underpin better social skills, executive function, and camouflaging in autistic females.

Inhibitory Performance in Smokers Relative to Nonsmokers When Exposed to Neutral, Smoking- and Money-Related Pictures.

INTRODUCTION: Smoking is associated with significant negative health consequences. It has been suggested that deficient inhibitory control may be implicated in (nicotine) addiction, but its exact role has not yet been elucidated. In the current study, our aim was to investigate the role of inhibitory control in relation to nicotine addiction in contexts that differ in terms of reward. METHODS: Participants filled out questionnaires and performed a go/no-go task with three conditions. In one condition, the stimuli were neutral color squares, and in the reward conditions, these were smoking-related pictures and money-related pictures, respectively. In total, 43 non-abstinent individuals that smoke and 35 individuals that do not smoke were included in the sample. RESULTS: The main results showed that individuals that smoke, relative to individuals that do not smoke, had reduced inhibitory control in both reward contexts, relative to a neutral context. The reductions in inhibitory control were mirrored by speeded responses. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals that smoke seem to present with reduced inhibitory control, which is most pronounced in contexts of reward. Consistent with incentive sensitization theory, the reduced inhibitory control may be (at least partly) due to the heightened approach bias to reward-related stimuli as indicated by the speeded responses.

Neurofeedback, sham neurofeedback, and cognitive-behavioural group therapy in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: a triple-blind, randomised, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Many studies suggest that electroencephalographic (EEG) neurofeedback might be beneficial in the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, numbers of well controlled studies are low and neurofeedback techniques are regarded as highly controversial. The present trial examined the efficacy (compared with sham neurofeedback) and efficiency (compared with meta-cognitive therapy) of a standard EEG neurofeedback protocol in adults with ADHD. METHODS: We did a concurrent, triple-blind, randomised, controlled trial using authorised deception in adults with ADHD from one centre (University of Tübingen) in Tübingen, Germany. Participants were eligible if they fulfilled the DSM-IV-TR criteria for ADHD, were aged between 18 years and 60 years, and had no or stable use of medication for at least 2 months with no intention to change. We excluded participants who had comorbid schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, epilepsy, or traumatic brain injury; substance abuse or dependence; or current or planned other psychological treatment. Those eligible were randomly assigned to three groups: a neurofeedback group which received 30 verum θ-to-ß neurofeedback sessions over 15 weeks, a sham neurofeedback group which received 15 sham followed by 15 verum θ-to-ß neurofeedback sessions over 15 weeks, or a meta-cognitive group therapy group which received 12 sessions over 12 weeks. Participants were assigned equally to one of the three interventions through a computerised minimisation randomisation procedure stratified by sex, age, and baseline symptom severity of ADHD. Participants were masked as to whether they were receiving neurofeedback or sham neurofeedback, but those receiving meta-cognitive therapy were aware of their treatment. Clinical assessors (ie, those assessing outcomes) and research staff who did the neurofeedback training were masked to participants' randomisation status only for neurofeedback and sham neurofeedback. The primary outcome was symptom score on the Conners' adult ADHD rating scale, assessed before treatment, at midtreatment (after 8 weeks), after treatment (after 16 weeks), and 6 months later. All individuals with at least one observation after randomisation were included in the analyses. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01883765. FINDINGS: Between Feb 1, 2013, and Dec 1, 2015, 761 people were assessed for eligibility. 656 (86%) were excluded and 118 (15%) were eligible for participation in this study. Eligible participants were randomly assigned to neurofeedback (38 [32%]), sham neurofeedback (39 [33%]), or meta-cognitive therapy (41 [35%]). 37 (97%) individuals for neurofeedback, 38 (97%) for sham neurofeedback, and 38 (93%) for meta-cognitive therapy were included in analyses. Self-reported ADHD symptoms decreased substantially for all treatment groups (B=-2·58 [95% CI -3·48 to -1·68]; p<0·0001) between pretreatment and the end of 6 month follow-up, independent of treatment condition (neurofeedback vs sham neurofeedback B=-0·89 [95% CI -2·14 to 0·37], p=0·168; neurofeedback vs meta-cognitive therapy -0·30 [-1·55 to 0·95], p=0·639). No treatment-related or trial-related serious adverse events were reported. INTERPRETATION: Our findings suggest that neurofeedback training is not superior to a sham condition or group psychotherapy. All three treatments were equivalently effective in reducing ADHD symptoms. This first randomised, sham-controlled trial did not show any specific effects of neurofeedback on ADHD symptoms in adults. FUNDING: German Research Foundation.