Goal Management Training and Mindfulness Meditation improve executive functions and transfer to ecological tasks of daily life in polysubstance users enrolled in therapeutic community treatment.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine if GMT+MM improves executive functions in polysubstance users in residential treatment and if these gains transfer to ecologically valid goal-oriented tasks.
Results Summary
GMT+MM improved basic measures of working memory, reflection impulsivity, and planning, as well as performance in an ecological goal-directed task compared to the control group. The ecological test detected changes more easily than laboratory tasks.
Population
Polysubstance users in residential treatment
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
8 weeks
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goal Management Training+Mindfulness Meditation (GMT+MM) | increase | basic measures of working memory (Letter-number sequencing) | polysubstance users in residential treatment | - | was superior to control in improving | #1 |
Goal Management Training+Mindfulness Meditation (GMT+MM) | increase | reflection impulsivity (Information Sampling Test) | polysubstance users in residential treatment | - | was superior to control in improving | #2 |
Goal Management Training+Mindfulness Meditation (GMT+MM) | increase | initial thinking times during planning (Zoo Map Test) | polysubstance users in residential treatment | - | was superior to control in improving | #3 |
Goal Management Training+Mindfulness Meditation (GMT+MM) | increase | performance in the MET-CV (task failures) | polysubstance users in residential treatment | - | was superior to control in improving | #4 |
Goal Management Training+Mindfulness Meditation (GMT+MM) | increase | reflective processes | polysubstance users in residential treatment | - | increases | #5 |
Goal Management Training+Mindfulness Meditation (GMT+MM) | increase | the achievement of goals in daily activities | polysubstance users in residential treatment | - | increases | #6 |
BACKGROUND: We have previously shown that Goal Management Training+Mindfulness Meditation (GMT+MM) improves executive functions in polysubstance users enrolled in outpatient treatment. The aim of this study was to establish if GMT+MM has similar positive effects on executive functions in polysubstance users in residential treatment, and if executive functions' gains transfer to more ecologically valid goal-oriented tasks. METHODS: Thirty-two polysbustance users were randomly allocated to eight weeks of GMT+MM (n=16) or control, i.e., no-intervention (n=16); both groups received treatment as usual. Outcome measures included performance in laboratory tasks of basic and complex executive functions (i.e., basic: working memory and inhibition; complex: planning and self-regulation) and in an ecological task of goal-directed behavior (the Multiple Errands Test - contextualized version, MET-CV) measured post-interventions. RESULTS: Results showed that GMT+MM was superior to control in improving basic measures of working memory (Letter-number sequencing; F=4.516, p=0.049) and reflection impulsivity (Information Sampling Test; F=6.217, p=0.018), along with initial thinking times during planning (Zoo Map Test; F=8.143, p=0.008). In addition, GMT+MM was superior to control in improving performance in the MET-CV (task failures; F=8.485, p=0.007). CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate that GMT+MM increases reflective processes and the achievement of goals in daily activities, furthermore ecological test can detects changes easily than laboratory tasks.