Investigating the Impact of Guided Imagery on Stress, Brain Functions, and Attention: A Randomized Trial

Katarzyna Zemla; Grzegorz Sedek; Krzysztof Wróbel; Filip Postepski; Grzegorz M Wojcik

doi:10.3390/s23136210

Investigating the Impact of Guided Imagery on Stress, Brain Functions, and Attention: A Randomized Trial

Sensors (Basel). 2023 Jul 7;23(13):6210. doi: 10.3390/s23136210.

Authors

Katarzyna Zemla¹, Grzegorz Sedek¹, Krzysztof Wróbel², Filip Postepski², Grzegorz M Wojcik²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815 Warsaw, Poland.
² Department of Neuroinformatics and Biomedical Engineering, Institute of Computer Science, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-033 Lublin, Poland.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential impact of guided imagery (GI) on attentional control and cognitive performance and to explore the relationship between guided imagery, stress reduction, alpha brainwave activity, and attentional control using common cognitive performance tests. Executive function was assessed through the use of attentional control tests, including the anti-saccade, Stroop, and Go/No-go tasks. Participants underwent a guided imagery session while their brainwave activity was measured, followed by attentional control tests. The study's outcomes provide fresh insights into the influence of guided imagery on brain wave activity, particularly in terms of attentional control. The findings suggest that guided imagery has the potential to enhance attentional control by augmenting the alpha power and reducing stress levels. Given the limited existing research on the specific impact of guided imagery on attention control, the study's findings carry notable significance.

Keywords: EEG; GLM; cognitive performance; guided imagery; relaxation; stress reduction.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Attention
Brain
Brain Waves*
Humans
Imagery, Psychotherapy*

Grants and funding

The research presented herein was supported by the City of Lublin as a part of the cooperation of Lublin City Hall and Maria Curie-Sklodowska University towards a pilot study for the VRMed project. The authors would like to thank Ewa Lewandowska and Marek Rudziński of VRMed for fruitful discussions, inspiration, and the possibility of working together on new ideas.