Faculty of Education, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518055, China.
School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen University, Lihu Campus, Shenzhen 518055, China.
Cereb Cortex. 2024 Sep 3;34(9). doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhae330.
Early childhood marks a pivotal period in the maturation of executive function, the cognitive ability to consciously regulate actions and thoughts. Mindfulness-based interventions have shown promise in bolstering executive function in children. This study used the functional near-infrared spectroscopy technique to explore the impact of mindfulness-based training on young children. Brain imaging data were collected from 68 children (41 boys, aged 61.8 ± 10.7 months) who were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (N = 37, aged 60.03 ± 11.14 months) or a control group (N = 31, aged 59.99 ± 10.89 months). Multivariate and multiscale sample entropy analyses were used. The results showed that: (1) brain complexity was reduced in the intervention group after receiving the mindfulness-based intervention in all three executive function tasks (ps < 0.05), indicating a more efficient neural processing mechanism after the intervention; (2) difference comparisons between the intervention and control groups showed significant differences in relevant brain regions during cognitive shifting (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and medial prefrontal cortex) and working memory tasks (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), which corroborates with improved behavioral results in the intervention group (Z = -3.674, P < 0.001 for cognitive shifting; Z = 2.594, P < 0.01 for working memory). These findings improve our understanding of early brain development in young children and highlight the neural mechanisms by which mindfulness-based interventions affect executive function. Implications for early intervention to promote young children's brain development are also addressed.
早期儿童阶段是执行功能成熟的关键时期，执行功能是一种有意识地调节行为和思维的认知能力。基于正念的干预措施已被证明在增强儿童的执行功能方面具有潜力。本研究使用功能近红外光谱技术（functional near-infrared spectroscopy technique）来探索基于正念的训练对幼儿的影响。从 68 名儿童（41 名男孩，年龄 61.8±10.7 个月）中收集脑成像数据，这些儿童被随机分配到干预组（N=37，年龄 60.03±11.14 个月）或对照组（N=31，年龄 59.99±10.89 个月）。采用多变量和多尺度样本熵分析。结果表明：（1）在接受基于正念的干预后，干预组在所有三项执行功能任务中的大脑复杂性都降低了（p<0.05），这表明干预后神经处理机制更加高效；（2）干预组和对照组之间的差异比较显示，在认知转换（左侧背外侧前额叶皮层和内侧前额叶皮层）和工作记忆任务（左侧背外侧前额叶皮层）的相关脑区存在显著差异，这与干预组行为结果的改善相吻合（认知转换 Z=-3.674，P<0.001；工作记忆 Z=2.594，P<0.01）。这些发现提高了我们对幼儿早期大脑发育的理解，并强调了基于正念的干预影响执行功能的神经机制。还讨论了促进幼儿大脑发育的早期干预的意义。
