Dissecting De-automatization

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Mindfulness
• Interventions: Behavioral: Active Listening; Behavioral: Mindfulness Meditation Training

• Registration Number: NCT03456505
• Lead Sponsor: University of Utah

Brief Summary

The proposed study will assess the effects of mindfulness meditation training on an eye blink conditioning (EBC) task in a sample of novice meditators. This methodology will allow investigation of whether mindfulness interrupts classical conditioning through the process of de-automatization. Implicit learning rates, as reflective of unconscious habit formation and measured by the frequency of conditioned responses during the EBC, will be a main outcome of interest. The proposed study will also assess the effects of mindfulness meditation training on an emotion regulation (ER) task, with a specific focus on reappraisal of negative images and savoring of positive images.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2017-08-15
• Study First Submitted: 2018-01-12
• Study First Submitted QC: 2018-02-28
• Study First Posted: 2018-03-07
• Primary Completion: 2018-06-01
• Study Completion: 2018-07-01
• Status Verified: 2018-09
• Last Update Submitted: 2018-09-28
• Last Update Posted: 2018-10-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 53

Inclusion Criteria

1. Age 18-60,
2. willingness to participate in study interventions and assessments.

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Exclusion Criteria

1. Prior experience with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, or Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention, or a history of meditation practice,
2. Learning disability, significant memory problems or significant attentional disruptions as determined by self-report,
3. History of head injury resulting in loss of consciousness.

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: FACTORIAL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Active Listening	Active Listening	Participants randomly assigned to the active listening condition will meet for five, 15-minute sessions, in which they will listen to Gilbert White's The Natural History of Selborne.
Mindfulness	Mindfulness Meditation Training	Participants randomly assigned to the mindfulness meditation condition will meet for five, 15-minute sessions, in which they will receive training in basic mindfulness skills (Wallace, 2006).

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Conditioned Eyeblink Frequency	9 minutes	Between group differences in the frequency of conditioned eyeblinks over the six reinforcement blocks.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Negative Emotion Regulation Task	5 minutes	Between group differences in affective change occasioned by positively reappraising negative images will be measured by comparing increases in self-reported negative affect (5-point Likert scale) from pre- to post- negative image, viewing block.
Positive Emotion Regulation Task	5 minutes	Between group differences in affective change occasioned by savoring positive images will be measured by comparing increases in self-reported positive affect (5-point Likert scale) from pre- to post- positive image, viewing block.
Self-Transcendence (NADA-State)	2 minutes	Between group differences in the degree to which mindfulness training alters participants' sense of self as measured by the nondaul awareness dimension assessment's (NADA) state form.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Utah; 🇺🇸 Salt Lake City, Utah, United States