title: Mindfulness Trait Predicts Neurophysiological Reactivity Associated with Negativity Bias: An ERP Study.
abstract: This study explored the relationship of mindfulness trait with the early and late stages of affective processing, by examining the two corresponding ERP components, P2 and LPP, collected from twenty-two male Chinese participants with a wide range of meditation experiences. Multiple regression analyses was performed on the mindfulness scores, as measured by CAMS-R, with the subjective affective ratings and ERP data collected during an emotion processing task. The results showed that increased mindfulness scores predicted increased valence ratings of negative stimuli (less negative), as well as increased P2 amplitudes at the frontocentral location for positive compared to negative stimuli. Based on these findings, a plausible mechanism of mindfulness in reducing negativity bias was discussed. Moreover, our results replicated previous findings on the age-related increase of P2 amplitudes at the frontal sites for positive compared to neutral stimuli. Since the locations at which P2 amplitudes were found as associated with age and mindfulness differed, as did the emotional contents of the stimuli being compared, indicating that the effect of age did not confound our findings on mindfulness and the two factors might operate on early affective processing from distinct sources and mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong ; Laboratory of Cognitive Affective Neuroscience, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Nerissa S P
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong ; Laboratory of Cognitive Affective Neuroscience, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Delin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Kin-Hung
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Ting
authors.affiliation: Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Chetwyn C H
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong ; Laboratory of Cognitive Affective Neuroscience, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong ; The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Tatia M C
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Lee