Pain Perception Can Be Modulated by Mindfulness Training: A Resting-state fMRI Study
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience December 22, 2016 I-Wen Su, Fang-Wei Wu, Keng-Chen Liang et al.
People with chronic pain reported less pain after a six-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course, and their brain scans showed increased connectivity between the anterior insular cortex and the dorsal anterior midcingulate cortex. This brain connectivity change correlated with reduced pain scores. The findings suggest mindfulness training can alter brain network dynamics related to pain experience.