Research News  /  MMFT in the Media

Ongoing Research

U.S. Marine Corps - First Marine Expeditionary Force

In late May, the Institute began training Marines at Camp Pendleton, CA, as part of an ongoing study funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Bureau of Navy Medicine and Surgery (BUMED).  The goal of this project, “Neural Mechanisms of Mental Skills Resilience,” is to examine Mindfulness-based Mind Fitness Training‘s ability to complement the U.S. Marine Corps’ existing pre-deployment stress inoculation training.  The study is being conducted under the purview of Dr. Chris Johnson (the Naval Health Research Center - Warfighter Performance Department and UC San Diego) and in collaboration with Dr. Tom Minor (UCLA) and Dr. Martin Paulus (UC San Diego). 

Earlier phases of Dr. Johnson’s research examined the specific mechanisms of resilience that can be enhanced through USMC pre-deployment stress inoculation training at the Infantry Immersive Trainer (IIT), a simulated training environment for training small units in distributed operations doctrine. The second phase of the study, with our collaboration, will test the effects of complementing the existing stress inoculation training with MMFT.  This phase is also investigating the effects of leader participation in MMFT.  In previous studies (with Dr. Amishi Jha at the University of Miami), we have seen how MMFT mitigates cognitive degradation over the longer-term training cycle.  This study promises to further our understanding of the mechanisms by which troops regulate their response to stressors under performance demand.  Importantly, this will be the first look at MMFT’s effects on measures of small unit performance. 

The research team is collecting data pre- and post- MMFT, and both during and after squad counterinsurgency drills in the IIT.  The testing will include neurocognitive behavioral testing, blood and saliva biomarkers, a variety of self-report measures, and objective measures (both group and individual) collected during the IIT exercises themselves.  Of the 320 Marines involved in the study, half (four cohesive platoons) are undergoing eight weeks of MMFT training, while the remaining 160 Marines will serve as a control group.  We’re so pleased to be participating in this project and we are deeply grateful for the First Marine Expeditionary Force’s support and involvement.

U.S. Army - 25th Infantry Division
MFTI is participating in a large-scale resilience research study underway with the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.  The STRONG (Schofield Barracks Training and Research On Neurobehavioral Growth) study is sponsored by the U.S. Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program.  It includes 240 soldiers divided into six groups:  Four groups have received variations of MMFT, one received another resilience training based on the tenets of positive psychology (designed and delivered by Dr. Sara Algoe), and one group is serving as a no training control.  The study is looking at the effects of the training as indexed by cognitive tasks, self-report measures, and brain wave and peripheral physiology measures.  The principal investigator is Dr. Amishi Jha from the University of Miami.  Initial data gathering began in April 2010 and the MMFT training took place in the summer of 2010.  Post-training testing is on-going.  The study is being funded by the U.S. Army’s Medical Research and Material Command.

We are grateful to the 25th Infantry Division for their gracious hosting of this study.

IN THE MEDIA

Daily Health News

The Daily Health News ran a feature that highlights how MMFT pairs mindfulness training with other skills and information to support the self-regulation of the stress response as the basis of building resilience.  It is the first article about MMFT that clearly explains how the attention skills developed with mindfulness training can be used to support and maintain healthy autonomic nervous system functioning.

Yoga International

Joelle Hann reviewed the range of mind/body approaches that the military is currently investigating, including MMFT, in the Spring 2011 issue of Yoga International. The article takes as its starting point the concept of Total Force Fitness, which is developed in detail in the supplement to the August 2010 issue of Military Medicine.

New York Times

Tom Shanker and Matt Richtel examined the negative effects of data overload in the military for the New York Times.  The story mentions MMFT as a possible training approach for mitigating these negative effects on decision-making and military effectiveness.

Newsweek

A Newsweek article by Sharon Begley explored the burgeoning field of brain training and cognitive enhancement and tried to sort out what really works.  The article explains that many approaches to brain training may enhance specific cognitive functions, but they are not generalizable to a range of tasks.  It concludes by naming a select few techniques – including Mindfulness-based Mind Fitness Training – that do train transferable skills.

Military Times

Jon Anderson of the Military Times wrote a feature on the application of mindfulness training in the military.  The article highlights our work at MFTI.

Men's Journal

Venessa Gregory penned a piece in the November 2010 issue of Men's Journal reporting on the experiences of the Marines who participated in the pilot study of MMFT.

WHYY Radio Program, Voices in the Family

Voices in the Family, a weekly program on the National Public Radio affiliate WHYY, hosted by Dr. Dan Gottlieb, dedicated a show to exploring the implications of the pilot study of MMFT with Marines Reservists.  The show featured Dr. Amishi Jha, the principal investigator of the pilot study, Dr. Elizabeth Stanley, the creator of MMFT, and MAJ Jason Spitaletta, a Marine Reservist who participated in the pilot study.  The conversation explored how mindfulness training can train attention and the implications for MMFT with the military.  The show aired on May 10.  Listen to the program here:  MMFT, Training Attention, and the Military on WHYY

Mind Fitness and Deployment:  An Interview

Liz Stanley spoke with Carole Sargent, host of the Georgetown Forum radio show about MMFT and using mind fitness training to prepare for the stressors of combat.  To hear that interview, click here.

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