Greater neural flexibility associated with mindfulness may protect individuals from getting “stuck in a rut” of repetitive and uncontrollable worry about potential future threats, which are a hallmark of anxiety. More mindful individuals may be less prone to these anxious cognitions because of their ability to volitionally switch to other modes of awareness, such as “experiencing” sensations, emotions, and interception. 

Flexibility in transitioning between neural states bridges the well-established link between higher mindfulness and lower anxiety in children

This indicates greater flexibility in transitioning between neural connectivity states. 


University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Children who reported more present-focused and self-focused thoughts during the scan were considered as more mindful. These children spent less time in state 2, which may suggest that state 2 supports mind-wandering or another form of past or future-oriented cognition. They also spent less time in state 3, which may suggest that state 3 is associated with ruminative thought or episodic memory. 
However, these children were found to have a longer dwell time in state 5, which suggests that state 5 might reflect a more self-focused form of mind wandering. More more mindful children showed lower SEN-left CEN connectivity in state 4, which was characterized by positive connectivity among all network components. The researchers speculate that might reflect preferential conscious attentional processing over emotional value-based evaluation of stimuli.

Brain activity of more mindful children

Marusak HA, Elrahal F, Peters CA, Kundu P, Lombardo MV, Calhoun VD, Goldberg EK, Cohen C, Taub JW, Rabinak CA. Mindfulness and dynamic functional neural connectivity in children and adolescents. Behav Brain Res. 2018 Jan 15;336:211-218. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.09.010.

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