Brain Behavior Research Essay

A common theme and challenge that has been highlighted in Brain and Behavior has been the utility of brain-behavior research in mental health interventions. Examples presented in the course have included various reviews and studies on the impact of aerobic activity on cognitive health across the life course (Hillman, Erickson, & Kramer, 2008). Drawing upon this theme, a proposed, exploratory study would be to assess the effect of a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention on prefrontal cortex processing (PFC) and attentional processes among persons who have stress that varies in both severity and duration. If such an intervention were found to lead to significant reductions in not only stress but also improvements in PFC and attentional

Further support for this intervention is provided by additional studies that have found different types of stress, such as acute stress, to also have adverse effects on PFC functioning (Plessow, Kiesel, & Kirschbaum, 2012). Mindfulness meditation has already been shown to improve PFC and attentional processes (Kilpatrick et al., 2011), which also provides strong support for this proposed study. However, the unique qualities of the proposed study include further characterizing the effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction on distinct characteristics of stress, including stress duration and severity. Additionally, while there is strong evidence for differences in brain plasticity by age, this study would also assess whether differences in gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status modify the effectiveness of mindfulness based meditation on improvements in PFC processes among participants. Therefore, participants in this intervention would be of the same age group (middle-aged), but would have diverse sociocultural