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Attention State Training
Attention State Training (AST) refers to changes in state that accompany certain forms of experience such as meditation or exposure to nature. Attention is an adaptive function that is essential for learning inside of the classroom, driving a vehicle and maintaining conversations throughout the day. Attention is also crucial with respect to our ability to self-monitor, ignore distractions, stay alert to current goals, and coordinate during tasks. Given that attention underlies all aspects of perception, cognition and action, there are many benefits of being able to improve the ability to maintain focus and attentional control.

AST is rooted in Asian traditions and takes an Eastern approach to attention training. Its focus on altering body-mind state reflects a more holistic approach to attention training, while integrating Chinese medicine as well as both Buddhist and Zen practices. Mindfulness, meditation, Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) and exposure to nature are forms of AST that have been researched extensively and shown to improve emotional and cognitive performance and social behavior. In many Eastern cultures, maintaining balance and harmony with nature is a core philosophy. In countries like China, Tai Chi, yoga and meditation are often practiced in nature to allow for the ideal balance of mind and body. In Western countries, activities such as hiking and vacationing in national parks are gaining popularity, as the psychologically restorative benefits of nature are becoming more widely known.

AST differs significantly from traditional European/American methods of Attention Training (AT) which frequently incorporate curricula designed to exercise control mechanisms and train specific brain networks. Practice in conflict-related tasks, working memory tasks, or other tasks involving executive control mechanisms are ways of engaging in AT. Through a series of repetitive trials, often using computerized programs, AT results in cognitive modification. However, when we are required to focus attention and put forth sustained cognitive effort for long periods of time, as seen in AT, there is a high possibility for mental fatigue. AST employs mental restoration methods that encourage increased involuntary attention and decreased directed, voluntary attention. The result is an altered state of mind-body awareness and restoration of efficient mental effort that leads to improved performance.

Mindfulness


The concept of mindfulness originates in Buddhist tradition and represents one of the eight constituents of the Noble Eightfold Path taught by The Buddha over 2,500 years ago. Although Western cultures often view Buddhism as exclusively a religion, mindfulness is frequently taught and practiced independent of religious context. Mindfulness involves orienting oneself to experiences in the present moment, which is characterized by curiosity, openness and acceptance. By bringing awareness from the past or future, we are able to fully attend to the present on a moment-to-moment basis. Research suggests that mindfulness training significantly improves the self-regulation of attention. While there are many forms of mindfulness training, studies have shown that mindfulness practices improve two distinct forms of attention: “concentrative” and “receptive” attention. In the former, attention is directed at a specific focus (e.g. breathing) whereas in the latter, attention remains in an open state and remains so without orienting, directing or limiting it. In receptive attention, one can experience the whole field of awareness.

The ability of mindfulness training to improve both aforementioned forms of attention may help to explain findings that practicing mindfulness can improve the attentional blink. Often, we fail to detect a second target when it is presented soon after the first. However, mindfulness training has been shown to improve second target detection and also reduce brain-resource allocation to the first target. Findings such as these indicate that mindfulness results in increased control over the distribution of limited brain resources.

Meditation
Meditation refers to a family of complex emotional and attentional regulatory processes. It is a way in which individuals train the mind and it involves internal efforts to self-regulate. Meditation is an ancient practice that has been an integral component of many religious rituals and cultural traditions throughout the years. Meditation can take on a passive nature (e.g. laying down or sitting), or a more active nature as seen with Buddhist monks who practice mind training or those who use prayer beads as a meditative ritual.

Today, there are various styles of meditation. Some techniques, such as concentration and mantra meditation, rely on mind control or thought-work in order to focus awareness and attention. Other techniques, such as Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) focus on achieving a state or restful alertness, without stressing the need to control thoughts.

While meditative styles and practices differ, there is considerable evidence pointing to the positive effects of these induced modes of consciousness. As with all forms of AST, meditation helps to alleviate medical problems such as high blood pressure, depression and anxiety. Meditation’s impact on health and physical well-being is, in part, due to the activation of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) during meditative practices. During deep meditative states, the ANS begins to work in parallel allowing it to further regulate unconscious visceral functions such as breathing, heart rate and brain activity. Meditation also has a positive impact on emotional correlates of health and well being. Research indicates that engaging in regular meditation can increase positive moods and lower negative moods, such as anger.

Research indicates that, meditation, when practiced over weeks and months, can improve visual discrimination, perceptual sensitivity and vigilance during sustained visual attention tasks. Voluntary attention cannot be sustained for long periods of time, however, these findings suggest that meditation can reduce attentional resource demand, making it easier to sustain voluntary attention over long periods of time.

The beneficial effects of meditation on cognitive, physical and emotional aspects of well-being may be partially attributed to the meditation-induced neuroplasticity of the brain. During meditation, there is significant self-regulation of fronto-parietal and insular areas in the left hemisphere. Additionally, areas of the prefrontal cortex play antagonist roles in the executive control of attention settings during meditative states. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies indicate that functional reorganization of brain activity in the prefrontal cortex occurs as a result of meditation practice. With mental practice and consistent meditation, we learn to control attention and conscious processing of sensory-related thought and emotion contents.

Interestingly, the beneficial health and emotional effects of meditation and other forms of AST are not seen in traditional AT practices. While AT transfers to various cognitive abilities, AST has significantly more far-reaching effects, impacting cognition, health, emotion, and social behaviors.

Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT)
Integrative Body-Mind Training is a form of meditation developed by Dr. Yi-Yuan Tang in the 1990s and it was adopted from traditional Chinese medicine. IBMT stresses body-mind balance and cooperation in order to improve attention and performance. Unlike other forms of meditation, IBMT does not emphasize control of thoughts, which is often a difficult task for novices. By reducing reliance on control of thoughts and engaging in awareness of body, mind and guided instruction, IBMT seeks to create a balanced state of relaxation and restful alertness. IBMT has been studied in China since 1995 and has been shown to improve emotional and cognitive performance as well as social behavior.

IBMT practice begins with a brief instructional period called initial mind setting and its goal is to induce a cognitive or emotional set that will influence the training. Focused attention is encouraged through awareness of body, breathing and external instructional guidance. Additionally, control of thought is achieved gradually through posture and relaxation as well as with the help of the coach. The training is followed by 5 days of group practice during which the coach is available to answer questions and observe both facial and body cues of the trainees. The coach is trained to identify those who are having difficulties or who may be struggling with the method. Trainees are taught to relax, adjust their breathing and use mental imagery in order to achieve the desired state of body-mind awareness.



As shown in various neuroimaging studies by Dr. Yi-Yuan Tang, a well-acclaimed research professor at the University of Oregon, as little as eleven hours of IBMT can induce white matter change (improved axonal density and myelin) in the anterior cingulate, an area of the brain that is related to self-regulation. This provides evidence for IBMT-induced neuroplascticity of the brain. Also, short-term IBMT helps to improve coordination of the body and mind. In just five days, IBMT was shown to improve attention and self-regulation by changing the interactions between the brain and autonomic systems. These interactions are demonstrated by the correlations between frontal lobe electroencephalography (EEG) activity and parasympathetic activity during IBMT practice. These findings produce strong evidence for IBMT’s ability to achieve equilibrium between brain and body.

The widespread benefits of IBMT have been recognized by psychologists and physicians alike. In a study of Chinese undergraduates, IBMT improved performance of executive attention on the Attention Network Test (ANT). Additionally, these students scored lower on the Profile of Mood States scale for negative affect symptoms (e.g. depression and anger) and higher for positive affect symptoms (e.g. vigor). Other studies have highlighted IMBT’s ability to improve self-control capacity with respect to substance use, cravings and addictions. Dr. Yi-Yuan Tang and his colleagues showed that, among smokers who practiced IBMT, there was an increase in brain activity in the anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortex, which are both areas of the brain associated with executive functioning and self-control. These results suggest that brief periods of IBMT may increase capacity for self-control, thereby, helping people to cope with negative emotions and stress reactivity stemming from addictions.

Exposure to Nature
There are restorative benefits of being exposed to nature and there is growing literature quantifying the effects of nature on attention and concentration. Tasks that involve mental control require directed attention. Over time, when we exert effort to focus on a stimuli and inhibit inappropriate emotions and actions, directed attention fatigue (DAF) can result. DAF is a temporary fatigue of inhibitory mechanisms of the brain that results from the brain being overworked due to the suppression many stimuli. Brain structures such as the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex are responsible for blocking distracters and incoming stimuli that are unrelated to the task at hand. Research shows that the prefrontal cortex, in particular, becomes fatigued after sustained demands on directed attention.

Nature can be experienced in many forms, including wilderness backpacking, gardening, viewing photographs of nature and looking at trees and grass outside the window. According to Kaplan, natural environments and natural scenery engage the mind “effortlessly”. This “effortless attention” is believed to involve different brain structures than directed attention. The activation of different areas of the brain during nature exposure allows for attention restoration of key areas involved during directed attention, thereby, improving overall concentration. Therefore, the rejuvenating feeling and increase in attention and alertness that results from a quick walk in the park may actually be due to systematic restorative effects on directed attention. Newly emerging research focuses on the attentional benefits of virtual exposure to nature. Given the tendency for college students to spend much of their time engaged in tasks requiring sustained directed attention, a great deal of research has been collected on this population. Felsten (2009) found that college students rated pictures of dramatic nature scenes, especially those with water, as more restorative than those with window views of real, but mundane nature with built structures present. The findings suggest that nature murals in indoor settings may provide attentionally fatigued students with opportunities for attention restoration when access to nature is unavailable.

Exposure to nature has certainly proven beneficial for improving attention among the general public, and research suggests that spending just twenty minutes in natural settings, such as a park, is also sufficient to elevate attention performance among individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Symptoms of ADHD are very similar to those of DAF, thus, exposure to nature has a similar attentionally restorative effect among this population.

Stages of AST
There are many stages of AST. During initial stages, significant mental effort is required in order to enter a calm, peaceful and relaxed state. This initial stage can prove quite challenging and often distressing for novices to AST. Given the fast-paced nature of every day life, it can often be difficult to control and rein in wandering thoughts or to quiet intense emotions. Entering into this quiet state can take some time and require directed attention. However, with practice, we learn to enter into this desired state of relaxation and mind-body balance with ease. Methods such as exposure to nature may present more challenges with respect to achieving the desired mental state because they eyes are open. During IBMT, however, the eyes are closed which may allow a novice to enter into a deeper state of relaxation and self-awareness.

Once this state of relaxation is achieved, the practitioner can experience mental restoration. During this stage, mental fatigue is released and the brain receives a respite from directed attention. This allows for attentional restoration, which results in the ability to complete cognitive tasks more efficiently.

In the final stage of AST, equilibrium between the ANS and the anterior cingulate cortex is achieved. It is the correlation between these two systems that explains many of AST’s physical, cognitive and behavioral benefits.