Brain Activity of Mindfulness Meditation

Remarks: 

Keng, Smoski, & Robins (2011) review the empirical literature on the effects of mindfulness on psychological health. They begin with a discussion of the construct of mindfulness, differences between Buddhist and Western psychological conceptualizations of mindfulness, and how mindfulness has been integrated into Western medicine and psychology, before reviewing three areas of empirical research: cross-sectional, correlational research on the associations between mindfulness and various indicators of psychological health; intervention research on the effects of mindfulness-oriented interventions on psychological health; and laboratory-based, experimental research on the immediate effects of mindfulness inductions on emotional and behavioral functioning. 

Conclusion is that mindfulness brings about various positive psychological effects, including increased subjective well-being, reduced psychological symptoms and emotional reactivity, and improved behavioral regulation.

Bowlin & Baer (2012) investigate whether dispositional mindfulness (the tendency to be mindful in general daily life) accounts for variance in psychological symptoms and wellbeing after accounting for the influence of dispositional self-control (the tendency to be self-disciplined, reliable, hardworking, etc.). A large sample of undergraduate students (N = 280) completed self-report measures of mindfulness, self control, psychological wellbeing, and general psychological distress (depression and anxiety, and stress). As expected, both mindfulness and self-control were positively correlated with wellbeing and negatively correlated with general distress. Mindfulness was found to account for significant variance in psychological wellbeing and general distress after accounting for self-control. In addition, mindfulness was a significant moderator of the relationship between self-control and psychological symptoms. 
Results show that although self-control predicts significant variance in psychological health, mindfulness predicts incremental variance, suggesting that a mindful approach to ongoing experience can contribute to mental health in persons who are highly self-disciplined and hardworking.

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Keng, S-L., Smoski, M.J., & Robins. C.J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review 31 (6): 1041-1056. DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2011.04.006

Bowlin, S.L., & Baer, R.A. (2012). Relationships between mindfulness, self-control, and psychological functioning. Personality and Individual Differences 52 (3): 411-415. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2011.10.050