Mindful young brains and minds: a systematic review of the neural correlates of mindfulness-based interventions in youth
Name
11682_2025_989_ReferencePDF.pdf
Size
739.58 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
fe53e99b7acc6dd31b9f26b18b54b6e7
Author(s)
Jande, Jovan
Treves, Isaac N.
Ely, Samantha L.
Gowatch, Leah C.
Carpenter, Carmen
Shampine, MacKenna
Webb, Christian A.
Sacchet, Matthew D.
Gabrielli, John D. E.
Marusak, Hilary A.
Date Issued
March 3, 2025
Journal
Brain Imaging and Behavior
Publisher
Springer US
Citation
Jande, J., Treves, I.N., Ely, S.L. et al. Mindful young brains and minds: a systematic review of the neural correlates of mindfulness-based interventions in youth. Brain Imaging and Behavior 19, 609–625 (2025).
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
This systematic narrative review examines neuroimaging studies that investigated the neural correlates of mindfulness-based interventions in youth (ages 0–18). We extracted 13 studies with a total of 467 participants aged 5–18 years from the MEDLINE database on February 21st, 2024. These studies included both typically developing youth and those at risk of developing or recovering from neuropsychiatric disorders. Most studies (76.9%) utilized a pre-post intervention design, with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) being the most common imaging modality (46.1%), followed by task-based fMRI (38.4%), diffusion-weighted imaging (15.4%), and structural MRI (7.7%). Despite substantial heterogeneity across study designs and findings, several consistent patterns emerged. Resting-state fMRI studies generally reported increased functional connectivity within and between networks, notably involving the salience network, frontoparietal network, and default mode network. Studies using diffusion-weighted imaging indicated enhancements in white matter microstructural properties, supporting overall connectivity improvements. Several task-based fMRI studies identified decreased activation of the default mode network and heightened reactivity of the salience network during or after mindfulness practice, with real-time neurofeedback further amplifying these effects. While preliminary, the reviewed studies suggest that mindfulness interventions may alter both functional and structural connectivity and activity in youth, potentially bolstering self-regulation and cognitive control. Nonetheless, the variability in methodologies and small sample sizes restricts the generalizability of these results. Future research should prioritize larger and more diverse samples, and standardized mindfulness-based interventions to deepen our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying mindfulness-based interventions in youth and to optimize their efficacy.
MIT Department
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-025-00989-9
