Meditation techniques, including a martial arts-based form combining focused attention and mindful acceptance, lower activation in default mode network (DMN) regions—the medial frontal cortex, precuneus, and posterior cingulate cortex—in children with cancer when they watch distress-inducing video clips, compared to passively viewing the clips. Meditation may modulate DMN activity more effectively than distraction, a non-meditation emotion regulation strategy. No differences in self-reported distress ratings appeared between conditions. The findings suggest martial arts-based meditation alters negative self-referential processing linked to the DMN, with potential applications for managing pediatric pain and negative emotion.
A virtual reality-based meditative intervention for patients undergoing methadone maintenance treatment for opioid use disorder reduced self-reported pain, opioid craving, anxiety, and depression after each session, though anger did not change. Saliva cortisol levels also decreased after sessions, while C-reactive protein did not. Brain scans taken before and after the 12-week intervention showed decreased activation in the left postcentral gyrus during a pain task, and connectivity within the pain neuromatrix changed from baseline. These preliminary findings suggest the intervention is feasible and may have therapeutic benefits, supported by observable brain changes.
In children and adolescents aged 6-17, trait mindfulness is linked to dynamic, time-varying patterns of brain connectivity rather than to static connectivity. More mindful youth transitioned more frequently between different brain states, spent less time in a particular connectivity state, and showed reduced connectivity between salience/emotion and central executive networks in one state. The number of state transitions mediated the link between higher mindfulness and lower anxiety, suggesting a neural mechanism for mindfulness benefits on psychological health in youth.
Martial arts-based meditation, compared to distraction or passive viewing, lowers activation in default mode network (DMN) regions—medial frontal cortex, precuneus, and posterior cingulate cortex—in children with cancer watching distress-inducing video clips. Meditation may be more effective than distraction for modulating DMN activity, though self-reported distress ratings did not differ between conditions. The findings suggest that meditation alters negative self-referential processing linked to the DMN, potentially aiding management of pediatric pain and negative emotion.