Towards a mechanistic understanding of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) using an RCT neuroimaging approach: Effects on regulating own stress in social and non-social situations.
Neuroimage July 1, 2022 Simon Guendelman, Mareike Bayer, Kristin Prehn et al.
A randomized controlled trial compared mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) to a reading/listening intervention in 68 adults. MBSR reduced self-reported stress through both cognitive reappraisal and acceptance, but only when regulating one's own emotions, not when regulating others' distress. MBSR increased brain activation in the parietal cortex for self-regulation and in the precuneus and temporoparietal junction for other-regulation via both strategies, though the reading intervention also increased activation for self-regulation via reappraisal. Brain changes did not correlate with subjective stress reduction or meditation practice. No effects on cognitive empathy or compassion were found, indicating that MBSR's benefits do not generalize to social settings.