A Pilot Study of the Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Brain Response to Traumatic Reminders of Combat in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom Combat Veterans with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Frontiers in Psychiatry August 25, 2017 J. Douglas Bremner, Sanskriti Mishra, Carolina Campanella et al. 81 citations
Combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who completed an eight-session mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program showed lasting improvement in PTSD symptoms for six months after treatment, along with increased mindfulness. Brain imaging revealed that MBSR increased activity in the anterior cingulate and inferior parietal lobule while decreasing activity in the insula and precuneus when veterans were exposed to traumatic reminders, compared to those who received present-centered group therapy. These brain changes are linked to fear extinction and stress regulation. MBSR appears to be a safe and effective non-pharmacologic treatment for PTSD.