Potential therapeutic effects of meditation for treating affective dysregulation.
Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM January 1, 2014 Natalie T Y Leung, Mandy M Lo, Tatia M C Lee
Affective dysregulation—impaired control over emotions—underlies many mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and stress-related disorders. This dysregulation often involves weakened top-down cognitive control from the prefrontal cortex over subcortical emotional processing. Long-term meditation practice can induce neuroplastic changes in brain regions supporting cognitive control and emotional regulation, suggesting meditation may serve as a cost-effective intervention for mood disorders. The review examines concepts of affective regulation and meditation, discusses behavioral and neural evidence for meditation's clinical potential, and notes promising results from incorporating mindfulness into psychotherapy. Future research could explore integrating compassion into therapeutic approaches.