On Variation in Mindfulness Training: A Multimodal Study of Brief Open Monitoring Meditation on Error Monitoring.

brain sciences Article On Variation in Mindfulness Training: A Multimodal Study of Brief Open Monitoring Meditation on Error Monitoring Yanli Lin *, William D. Eckerle, Ling W. Peng and Jason S. Moser Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, Psychology Building, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA * Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-517-355-2159; Fax: +1-517-353-1652 Received: 5 August 2019; Accepted: 4 September 2019; Published: 6 September 2019



 Abstract: A nascent line of research aimed at elucidating the neurocognitive mechanisms of mindfulness has consistently identified a relationship between mindfulness and error monitoring. However, the exact nature of this relationship is unclear, with studies reporting divergent outcomes. The current study sought to clarify the ambiguity by addressing issues related to construct heterogeneity and technical variation in mindfulness training. Specifically, we examined the effects of a brief open monitoring (OM) meditation on neural (error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe)) and behavioral indices of error monitoring in one of the largest novice non-meditating samples to date (N = 212). Results revealed that the OM meditation enhanced Pe amplitude relative to active controls but did not modulate the ERN or behavioral performance. Moreover, exploratory analyses yielded no relationships between trait mindfulness and the ERN or Pe across either group. Broadly, our findings suggest that technical variation in scope and object of awareness during mindfulness training may differentially modulate the ERN and Pe. Conceptual and methodological implications pertaining to the operationalization of mindfulness and its training are discussed. Keywords: mindfulness; error monitoring; ERN; Pe; meditation; open monitoring 1. Introduction For the past two decades, mindfulness, commonly defined as the adoption of a nonelaborative, nonjudgmental awareness to present-moment experience [1,2], has garnered increasing interest for its seemingly innumerable benefits, permeating into the broader social discourse and influencing areas including public health, academia, corporations, and even politics [3,4]. Despite mounting caution from various academic disciplines that enthusiasm for mindfulness may be outpacing scientific progress [5–7], the accelerating proliferation and public embracement of mindfulness appear relatively uninterrupted. As with any growing scientific discipline, balancing optimism with rigor represents a formidable and persistent challenge. In considering the specific influence of science, widespread co-option of mindfulness may be driven by the disproportionate number of studies examining and reporting the effects of mindfulness (i.e., what it does) relative to studies aimed at discerning its underlying mechanisms (i.e., how it works). Research aimed at exploring the salutary effects of mindfulness may be derivative of broader sociocultural interests in self-improvement and social flourishing—motivations that may maintain a collective predilection toward “discovering benefits” [8]. Indeed, this appears reflected in the large and continuously expanding number of clinical, academic, social, and professional interventions from which mindfulness serves as a basis and inspiration. Critically, the proliferation of mindfulness-based applications arguably impedes mechanistic investigation—namely, that rapid change in the dissemination and implementation of mindfulness Brain Sci. 2019, 9, 226; doi:10.3390/brainsci9090226 www.mdpi.com/journal/brainsci Brain Sci. 2019, 9, 226 2 of 23 erodes its definition and uniquely challenges methodical operationalization [7,9]. Furthermore, the ever-expanding number of mindfulness-related “benefits” contributes to the intractability in pinpointing general mechanisms that undergird its purported myriad effects. With that said, one potential way to navigate these challenges is to systematically elucidate how mindfulness influences specific well-studied neurocognitive functions that underlie an array of human behaviors. One such function is error monitoring (also referred to as performance monitoring), a foundational feature of human cognition that facilitates the ability to continuously detect and adjust to errors [10–14]. Importantly, error monitoring is crucial in enabling goal-directed action and promoting behavioral adaptation—core abilities that underlie academic achievement, workplace productivity, mental health, and other outcome variables that are commonly associated with mindfulness. To the extent that the adoption and sustainment of mindfulness constitutes a goal-oriented action [15,16], the very act of being mindful itself—whether through intentional application of state mindfulness toward daily activities (see [17]) or engagement in more formal avenues of mindfulness training such as meditation—is likely to recruit, and possibly modulate, the error monitoring system and its downstream behavioral consequences (e.g., detection of mind wandering and subsequent remedial redirection of attention). Indeed, investigating the nature of the relationship between mindfulness and error monitoring may be promising in understanding the means and extent to which mindfulness exerts its broader influence on contemporary life. In contrast to the relative nascency of mindfulness research, error monitoring has been studied extensively for over 50 years (e.g., [18]). Importantly, decades of research in cognitive neuroscience have yielded considerable insights into the putative neural substrates of error monitoring—linking error processing systems to a medial frontal network comprising the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), supplemental motor areas (SMA), and insula (see [11,19] for reviews). Furthermore, this neural network is consistently implicated in the generation of a systematic sequence of event-related potentials (ERPs) after error commission on speeded-choice tasks (e.g., Eriksen flanker tasks). Two of the most reliable and well-studied neural indices of error monitoring are ERPs: the error-related negativity (ERN; [20,21]) and the error positivity (Pe; [15,16]). The ERN is a frontal central negative deflection that occurs within 100 ms after error commission and has been source localized to the ACC and SMA (see [22] for a review). Although the functional significance of the ERN is still debated, two prominent theories grounded in computational modeling have linked the ERN to early detection of: (1) competing response representations (error vs. correct; i.e., conflict monitoring theory, [14,23]) and; (2) mismatch between predicted and actual performance outcomes (i.e., reinforcement learning theory, [24]). Despite their differences, both theories imply that larger ERN amplitudes are associated with higher acuity in detecting performance-related discrepancies. Additionally, it has been posited that the ERN indexes emotional processing of (...truncated)