A 30-day smartphone-based mindfulness meditation training program reduced activity of the pro-inflammatory NF-κB transcription control pathway in stressed customer service workers, compared to a problem-solving control program. Both interventions lowered stress levels equally, but only mindfulness training produced a specific immunoregulatory benefit, suggesting it may be a particularly effective method for improving immune cell gene expression in stressful work environments.
A six-week virtual mindfulness program for women with Long COVID-related dysautonomia did not improve objective measures of autonomic function or most self-reported symptoms, but it did reduce insomnia severity and decreased pro-inflammatory gene expression. Twenty women aged 21-52 years participated. Insomnia scores dropped significantly after the program but returned toward baseline by four weeks. No improvements were seen in autonomic symptoms, anxiety, perceived stress, depression, well-being, or COVID-related distress. Pro-inflammatory conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA) gene expression decreased from before to after the program, especially among those with more prior COVID-19 infections. The findings suggest mindfulness may improve sleep and reduce inflammatory biology, but overall symptom burden remained high.
Baseline activity of the CREB transcription factor pathway, inferred from gene expression profiles in blood samples, predicted psychological responses to compassion-based meditation but not to mindfulness meditation. In two randomized controlled trials, individuals with higher pre-intervention CREB activity showed greater reductions in loneliness and negative emotions, and greater increases in life satisfaction, after compassion meditation. CREB activity was unrelated to baseline psychometric measures, suggesting that gene expression profiles may capture non-conscious psychobiological states that could help personalize intervention selection.
A 6-week workshop in mindfulness meditation reduced expression of proinflammatory genes linked to early-life low socioeconomic status (SES), while loving-kindness meditation unexpectedly increased that same gene expression profile. In 88 at-risk midlife adults, those who learned mindfulness meditation showed significant declines in the conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA), whereas those who learned loving-kindness meditation showed significant increases. Both groups reported more positive and fewer negative emotions over the six weeks, but this emotional change did not explain the gene expression differences. The findings suggest mindfulness meditation may help reverse the biological effects of childhood low SES in midlife.