Attention-Related Neurophysiological Changes After an 8-Week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Intervention: a Pilot Follow-up Study

This naturalistic study investigated the effects of an 8-week mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) group intervention on attention. Eighteen participants completed the attentional network test (ANT) during an EEG recording. All measures were repeated before, following, and 3 months after MBCT. Clinical improvements were found at post-test and follow-up. Reaction times significantly decreased from baseline to follow-up with consistently high accuracy. However, ANT scores did not change. Recording sessions had no effect on cue- or target-related event-related potentials (ERP). However, event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) results revealed that from baseline to follow-up, congruent targets needed fewer attentional resources. Information processing needed for conflict resolution decreased between baseline and follow-up. No converging results regarding clinical improvements and changes in behavioral and ERP measures of ANT were found. ERSP analysis demonstrated that congruent attentional tasks needed less cortical processing at follow-up. Further research that includes data from controls is needed to rule out possible training effects on the measured data.