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Natasha Matthews

2 papers in the library · publishing 2021-2024

Papers

Outcome Expectancies, Effects, and Mechanisms of Brief Training in Mindfulness Meditation vs. Loving-Kindness Meditation vs a Control Condition for Pain Management: A Randomized Pilot Study.

Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy September 1, 2024 Melissa A Day, Natasha Matthews, Jonathan N. Davies et al.

A single 20-minute session of mindfulness meditation or loving-kindness meditation reduced pain intensity more than an audiobook control in 100 adults with chronic or current problematic pain. Both meditation types produced medium effects on pain intensity (mindfulness d=0.41, loving-kindness d=0.38), while the control showed almost no change. Pain unpleasantness decreased only slightly across all conditions. Participants expected greater benefits from both meditations than from the control. Mindfulness increased mindful observing, and loving-kindness meditation increased self-compassion, but these changes did not explain the pain reductions. Pain type did not affect the results.

DOI: 10.1080/15360288.2022.2141944 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Mindfulness meditation Expectancy Loving-kindness meditation Mediators +1

Change in brain oscillations as a mechanism of mindfulness-meditation, cognitive therapy, and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for chronic low back pain.

Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) February 9, 2021 M. Day, Natasha Matthews, J. Mattingley et al.

Psychological treatments for chronic low back pain (CLBP) can alter brain activity, as measured by electroencephalography (EEG). In adults with CLBP who completed cognitive therapy, mindfulness meditation, or mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, there were significant reductions in theta and alpha power in the left frontal region and in beta power across all five brain regions examined. Reduced beta power in the central region was linked to lower pain intensity only for mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. These changes suggest that all three treatments lowered cortical arousal, indicating a shared neurophysiological effect.

DOI: 10.1093/pm/pnab049 (opens in new tab) Medicine Psychology