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Updated: Dec 21, 2025

Combining Behavior and EEG to Study the Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Episodic Memory
Published on: May 11, 2020
Effect of postlearning meditation on memory consolidation: level of focused attention matters
Megan B Collins1, Erin J Wamsley1
1Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina 29613, USA.
Abstract:
Recent studies demonstrate that eyes-closed rest benefits memory consolidation, perhaps due to reduced attention to environmental stimuli. Here, we asked whether focusing attention to internal thoughts and feelings after learning similarly blocks memory consolidation. Verbal memory was tested following an eyes-closed consolidation period filled with either focused attention to breath or quiet rest. Although breath-focus did not impair memory relative to quiet rest overall, participants who reported being more successful in maintaining breath-focus during this condition showed increased forgetting. We interpret these findings as incompatible with a simple sensory-interference-based account of rest's effect on memory.
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