Enhancing Chinese preschoolers' executive function via mindfulness training: An fNIRS study

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Mindfulness training enhances cognitive and emotional regulation in older populations.
• Research on mindfulness interventions for young children remains limited.
• Existing studies primarily focus on school-aged children, adolescents, and adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of a 5-week mindfulness training program on executive functions in Chinese preschoolers.
• To examine changes in cognitive shifting, inhibitory control, and working memory.
• To assess alterations in brain activation patterns using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

Main Methods:

• A one-group pretest-posttest design was employed.
• 31 Chinese preschoolers (mean age = 67.03 months) participated.
• Intervention involved 5 weeks of twice-weekly mindfulness training sessions.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in cognitive shifting and working memory task performance.
• Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) revealed significant changes in brain activation within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC).
• Inhibitory control performance did not show significant changes.

Conclusions:

• Mindfulness training is a viable intervention for enhancing executive functions in young children.
• The findings suggest that mindfulness can positively influence cognitive flexibility and working memory capacity in preschoolers.
• Neuroplasticity in the DLPFC may underlie the observed cognitive improvements, warranting further investigation.