Trait mindfulness refers to the tendency of being mindful in everyday life. Individuals characterized with high trait mindfulness have reported high subjective wellbeing and are less prone to depression and stress. The aim with this systematic review was to investigate the neural correlates of trait mindfulness. Also, to compare the neural correlates underlying trait mindfulness with those related to mindfulness practices. A systematic search, screening and selection was conducted, resulting in twelve articles included for data extraction and discussion. All studies investigated resting state brain activity or brain structure, measured by fMRI or MRI, in relation to individual scores in trait mindfulness measures. Trait mindfulness was characterized by reduced connectivity within the DMN (between the PCC, the medial PFC, the STG and the thalamus e.g.) and increased functional connectivity between the insula and the ACC within the SN. Further, decreased functional connectivity between the DMN and the SN was observed. No consistent structural correlates characterizing trait mindfulness were reported. Reduced connectivity within the DMN is thought to associate with reduced vulnerability to rumination and depression. Increased connectivity within the SN has been linked to enhanced body awareness and interoception. Decreased functional connectivity between the DMN and the SN has been suggested to facilitate enhanced attention. Trait mindfulness appears to share some neural characteristics with those linked to mindfulness practices: weaker functional connectivity within the DMN, increased involvement of the insula and the ACC within the SN, and weaker connectivity between the DMN and the SN.

Mindfulness engagement has become increasingly popular in therapeutic settings and is promising in terms of possibly reducing physical and mental health symptoms among a wide variety of clients (including college students) presenting diverse diagnoses. While a number of studies suggest that mindfulness interventions increase mindfulness ability, this assertion has not been validated because many researchers utilizing a mindfulness intervention fail to include measures assessing change in trait mindfulness ability. The present study examined mindfulness engagement and trait mindfulness, as well as physical and mental health correlates of trait mindfulness, in 300 college students (74% female) via an online survey. Mindfulness ability in this general college population was similar to the overall mindfulness ability in the general population. Seventy-nine percent of respondents reported mindfulness engagement. Fifty-nine percent of the sample reported previous mindfulness engagement and only 32% of these individuals stated continued engagement. While no overall differences in trait mindfulness were found between respondents who had reported previous mindfulness and those who had not, individuals who spent more time in their mindfulness practice, also reported higher amounts of trait mindfulness ability. These data suggest that in order for these specific mindfulness engagements to impact trait mindfulness ability, a time engagement threshold must be met. A number of trait mindfulness variables were significantly related to a number of mental and physical health variables. However, relationships between trait mindfulness and health variables were not uniform. Multiple subscales from the Five Factor Mindfulness Scale (FFMQ) were significantly correlated with mental and physical health variables. There were few physical and mental health variables that were significantly correlated or suggested trends with the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Increased cognitive symptoms of depression, yet nonclinically significant levels as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), were significantly positively related to increased levels of trait mindfulness ability. More efforts are needed, including, measurement of mindfulness throughout intervention, increased focus regarding the construct of mindfulness ability and novel forms for measurement, and the relationship between mindfulness ability measurement of mindfulness ability and specific mental and physical health variables.

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Emotion Regulation refers to the process of controlling our emotions. However, the brain regions which are involved in emotional processes, such as the prefrontal cortices, are the last regions to be developed throughout the human brain. Those who are most affected by this slow development are adolescents especially since they undergo hormonal and neural changes. Previous research has shown mindfulness meditation improves emotional stability and inhibitory control. Since our brain is not fully developed until the age of 25, it is particularly interesting to get knowledge of the effect of mindfulness on emotion regulation in adolescents, which is the aim of this thesis. A total of three studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this systematic review. The results showed a larger reaction in the amplitude of P2, N2, and late positive potentials on both negative and positive stimuli but not neutral stimuli. Differences were observed in the high vs low mindfulness adolescents in frontal EEG asymmetry during emotion regulation tasks. These findings suggest that even brief mindfulness can have a positive effect on emotion regulation processes by enhancing prefrontal cortices. These findings contribute to the understanding of whether mindfulness affects emotional regulation in a developing brain. However, future research is needed to clarify the effects of mindfulness on emotion regulation in adolescents.

The purpose of the present study was to assess: a) perceived stress, burnout, depression, and empathy at three time points in internal medicine residents, b) the role of gender and trait mindfulness in stress response during residency and c) to evaluate the impact these variables have on performance evaluations. Additionally, specific tasks of the residency that may contribute to the experience of stress and burnout were evaluated to test a model of job strain. Stress predicted subsequent burnout and depression. Burnout predicted subsequent depression, and stress mediated this relationship. Women reported higher mean levels of empathy and burnout than men. The exploratory measure of job strain was not significantly related to stress outcomes. The acting with awareness facet of mindfulness was negatively related to burnout and depression. Performance was both negatively and positively related to stress outcomes. The results are discussed within the context of the current literature.

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Mindfulness, purposeful attention without judgment or acceptance, and related practices are increasingly popular with a large number of people and have been incorporated into many western psychotherapies (e.g., Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy). There is considerable debate over whether mindfulness is best studied as a state, trait or procedure. Although many studies have found that trait mindfulness is related to physical and mental health outcomes, less is known about the mechanism(s) through which mindfulness enhances clinical outcomes. The current study explored the role of potential mediators of the relationship between trait mindfulness and psychological outcomes, i.e., psychological distress. Specifically, we examined whether the relationship between trait mindfulness and psychological distress is indirect, with mediators such as emotion regulation (i.e., cognitive reappraisal and emotion suppression, experiential avoidance, cognitive flexibility (i.e., alternative), and psychological inflexibility accounting for the relationship. We measured trait mindfulness, psychological distress, emotion regulation, cognitive flexibility, experiential avoidance and acceptance in a large sample of undergraduate students. We hypothesized that the relationship between trait mindfulness and psychological outcomes is indirect and may be due to enhanced acceptance, flexibility, and emotion regulation. We conducted a sequential regression, simple mediational, and multiple mediational analyses to test hypotheses. Results revealed that the proposed mediators explained additional variances in psychological distress above and beyond trait mindfulness. The simple mediational analyses indicated that individually, psychological inflexibility, emotion regulation (only cognitive reappraisal), and experiential avoidance mediated the relationship between trait mindfulness and psychological distress. Finally, the multiple mediational analysis revealed that, when tested simultaneously, only psychological inflexibility mediated the association between trait mindfulness and psychological distress. Implications of results for developing treatment packages that include mindfulness practices are discussed. Limitations of the cross-sectional design, the measurements, and definitional issues of trait mindfulness are discussed as well.

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