The impact of meditation on cognitive flexibility: A critical review and the case for investigating True Self Meditation
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility, the capacity to adapt thinking and behavior in response to changing environmental demands, is a critical component of psychological resilience and executive functioning. Meditation, particularly attention-based practices, has been associated with improvements in core cognitive processes, such as sustained attention, emotion regulation, and metacognitive awareness. Neuroimaging and behavioral evidence suggests that meditation activates neural networks involving the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and limbic regions, which are crucial for set-shifting, adaptive learning, and executive control. While much of the current literature centers on Mindfulness Meditation, this focus has primarily served as a foundational framework for understanding meditation's cognitive effects. Other meditation modalities remain comparatively less explored in scientific literature, particularly in Western academic contexts. True Self Meditation (TSM), a practice rooted in systematic emotional and cognitive reflection, represents a compelling but under-recognized area for investigation. TSM involves the active identification and systematic discarding of maladaptive emotional images, promoting positive, resilient cognitive patterns. Existing research suggests that TSM may directly target cognitive flexibility mechanisms by engaging neural processes related to memory storage, emotional regulation, and executive functioning. Moreover, TSM-based interventions have demonstrated significant improvements in psychological well-being, social adjustment, and neurocognitive activation. While a substantial body of self-report and observational research-particularly within South Korea-has examined TSM's psychological outcomes, limited work has investigated its neurocognitive mechanisms or broader applicability across diverse populations. This review synthesizes existing research on TSM's potential impact on cognitive flexibility , focusing on neural mechanisms and methodological strengths and weaknesses in the literature. Addressing these gaps could offer valuable insight into how specific meditation practices differentially influence cognitive functioning. Future research should prioritize experimental, neuroimaging, and longitudinal approaches to clarify TSM's cognitive effects and potential as a targeted intervention. Expanding TSM's research will help capture the diversity of meditative practices and their unique contributions to cognitive and clinical outcomes.
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BibTeX
@misc{nam2026impact,
title = {{The impact of meditation on cognitive flexibility: A critical review and the case for investigating True Self Meditation}},
author = {Cecilia J. Nam and Boas Yu},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/5c7ju_v2},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/5c7ju_v2/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The impact of meditation on cognitive flexibility: A critical review and the case for investigating True Self Meditation
AU - Cecilia J. Nam
AU - Boas Yu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/06
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/5c7ju_v2
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/5c7ju_v2/
AB - Cognitive flexibility, the capacity to adapt thinking and behavior in response to changing environmental demands, is a critical component of psychological resilience and executive functioning. Meditation, particularly attention-based practices, has been associated with improvements in core cognitive processes, such as sustained attention, emotion regulation, and metacognitive awareness. Neuroimaging and behavioral evidence suggests that meditation activates neural networks involving the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and limbic regions, which are crucial for set-shifting, adaptive learning, and executive control. While much of the current literature centers on Mindfulness Meditation, this focus has primarily served as a foundational framework for understanding meditation's cognitive effects. Other meditation modalities remain comparatively less explored in scientific literature, particularly in Western academic contexts. True Self Meditation (TSM), a practice rooted in systematic emotional and cognitive reflection, represents a compelling but under-recognized area for investigation. TSM involves the active identification and systematic discarding of maladaptive emotional images, promoting positive, resilient cognitive patterns. Existing research suggests that TSM may directly target cognitive flexibility mechanisms by engaging neural processes related to memory storage, emotional regulation, and executive functioning. Moreover, TSM-based interventions have demonstrated significant improvements in psychological well-being, social adjustment, and neurocognitive activation. While a substantial body of self-report and observational research-particularly within South Korea-has examined TSM's psychological outcomes, limited work has investigated its neurocognitive mechanisms or broader applicability across diverse populations. This review synthesizes existing research on TSM's potential impact on cognitive flexibility , focusing on neural mechanisms and methodological strengths and weaknesses in the literature. Addressing these gaps could offer valuable insight into how specific meditation practices differentially influence cognitive functioning. Future research should prioritize experimental, neuroimaging, and longitudinal approaches to clarify TSM's cognitive effects and potential as a targeted intervention. Expanding TSM's research will help capture the diversity of meditative practices and their unique contributions to cognitive and clinical outcomes.
ER -