Elizabeth A Hoge - The Consciousness Library

Effects of MBSR and escitalopram on self-compassion in anxiety disorders.

Journal of Psychiatric Research June 1, 2026 Amanda W Baker, Samantha R Philip, Caroline H Armstrong et al.

Self-compassion is recognized as important for psychological well-being and has been linked to reduced anxiety levels. Mindfulness-based interventions, such as the 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR), have shown promise in treating anxiety disorders, but no studies to date have compared the effects of MBSR to the gold-standard medication treatment (escitalopram) on...

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2026.02.010 Full text Anxiety Meditation Mindfulness Medication +1

A randomized controlled trial comparing mindfulness to escitalopram for anxiety: In-person and remote, synchronous delivery pre and post COVID-19 pandemic.

Journal of Affective Disorders September 1, 2025 Elizabeth A Hoge, Mihriye Mete, Amanda W Baker et al. 3 citations

During the pandemic, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) versus the antidepressant, escitalopram (ESC) added a second phase using a synchronous, videoconference (VC) format for both interventions, enabling randomized and naturalistic comparisons. The original in-person RCT demonstrated non-inferiority of MBSR to ESC. In the second phase, we...

DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2025.04.145 Full text Mindfulness Anxiety disorders Comparative effectiveness Escitalopram +1

PCC-hippocampal functional connectivity associated with stress biomarker changes after meditation training for healthy adults.

Neuroscience Letters May 23, 2025 Diane Joss, Gunes Sevinc, John W. Denninger et al. 1 citation

Meditation training has been shown to improve physical and mental health and promote neural plasticity, but more research is needed on the relationships between these effects. This study analyzed the Resting State Functional Connectivity (RSFC) of posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) among 94 chronically stressed but otherwise healthy adults randomized 1:1:1 to receive eight weeks of in-person...

DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2025.138272 Full text Meditation Biomarker Inflammation MRI +10

Neural correlates of reduction in self-judgment after mindful self-compassion training: A pilot study with resting state fMRI.

Journal of Mood and Anxiety Disorders March 1, 2025 Diane Joss, Michael Datko, Charisma I Washington et al. 5 citations

Self-judgment is a trans-diagnostic symptom among various psychological disorders, therefore can be a therapeutic target for many common psychiatric conditions. Self-judgment often arises among those who experienced childhood maltreatment, which increases the risk for developing comorbid psychiatric disorders that are resistant to traditional pharmacological and psychological interventions....

DOI: 10.1016/j.xjmad.2024.100096 Full text Mindfulness Neural plasticity Childhood trauma Compassion +2

Effect of meditation or escitalopram on work performance in patients with anxiety disorders.

Journal of Affective Disorders November 1, 2024 Anna C Oft, Samantha R Philip, Emily Holz et al. 4 citations

This study aimed to 1) examine how psychopharmacotherapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) influence absenteeism and job performance among individuals with anxiety disorders and 2) compare the effectiveness of these treatments in improving work performance. Adults (N = 67) with a primary anxiety disorder were recruited to participate in the study. Participants were randomized to...

DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.08.019 Full text Absenteeism Anxiety disorders Mindfulness-based intervention Psychopharmacology +2

Changes in mindfulness facets across yoga, CBT and stress education in individuals with generalized anxiety disorder.

Journal of Mood and Anxiety Disorders June 1, 2024 Danielle Moskow Diamond, David Rosenfield, Nikki Kaiser et al. 5 citations

Improving mindfulness is an important treatment target for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). However, less is known about how different treatments impact specific aspects of mindfulness. In a clinical trial (Simon et al., 2021), 226 individuals with GAD were randomized to 12 weeks of Kundalini Yoga (KY), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or stress education (SE). To examine whether specific...

DOI: 10.1016/j.xjmad.2024.100058 Full text Anxiety Mindfulness Stress Therapy +2

Attenuation of Anxiety-Potentiated Startle After Treatment With Escitalopram or Mindfulness Meditation in Anxiety Disorders.

Biological Psychiatry 2024 Elizabeth A Hoge, Caroline H Armstrong, Mihriye Mete et al. 10 citations

Biological markers for anxiety disorders may further understanding of disorder pathophysiology and suggest potential targeted treatments. The fear-potentiated startle (FPS) (a measure of startle to predictable threat) and anxiety-potentiated startle (APS) (startle to unpredictable threat) laboratory paradigm has been used to detect physiological differences in individuals with anxiety disorders...

DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.06.003 Full text Anxiety-potentiated startle Escitalopram Fear-potentiated startle Mindfulness meditation +2

Investigating the Role of Interpretation Bias in Mindfulness-Based Treatment of Adults With Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Frontiers in Psychology February 11, 2020 Elizabeth A Hoge, Hannah E. Reese, Isabelle A. Oliva et al.

Although mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have garnered empirical support for a wide range of psychological conditions, the psychological processes that mediate the relationship between MBIs and subsequent symptomatic improvement are less well-understood. In the present study we sought to examine, for the first time, the relationship between mindfulness, negative interpretation bias as...

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00082 Full text Generalized anxiety disorder Mindfulness Cognitive bias Homophone +1

Moving beyond mindfulness: Defining equanimity as an outcome measure in meditation and contemplative research

October 3, 2019 Gaelle Desbordes, Tim Gard, Elizabeth A Hoge et al. 6 citations

In light of a growing interest in contemplative practices such as meditation, the emerging field of contemplative science has been challenged to describe and objectively measure how these practices affect health and well-being. While “mindfulness” itself has been proposed as a measurable outcome of contemplative practices, this concept encompasses multiple components, some of which, as we...

DOI: 10.31231/osf.io/48dgn Contemplation Psychotherapist Mindfulness meditation Valence chemistry +1

The Effect of Mindfulness Meditation Training on Biological Acute Stress Responses in Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Psychiatry Research January 25, 2017 Elizabeth A Hoge, Eric Bui, Sophie A. Palitz et al.

Mindfulness-Based interventions have increased in popularity in psychiatry, but the impact of these treatments on disorder-relevant biomarkers would greatly enhance efficacy and mechanistic evidence. If Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is successfully treated, relevant biomarkers should change, supporting the impact of treatment and suggesting improved resilience to stress. Seventy adults...

DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.01.006 Full text

Loving-Kindness Meditation practice associated with longer telomeres in women.

Brain, behavior, and immunity August 1, 2013 Elizabeth A Hoge, Maxine M Chen, Esther Orr et al.

Relatively short telomere length may serve as a marker of accelerated aging, and shorter telomeres have been linked to chronic stress. Specific lifestyle behaviors that can mitigate the effects of stress might be associated with longer telomere lengths. Previous research suggests a link between behaviors that focus on the well-being of others, such as volunteering and caregiving, and overall...

DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2013.04.005 Full text

Neural mechanisms of symptom improvements in generalized anxiety disorder following mindfulness training

NeuroImage Clinical 2013 Britta K. Hölzel, Elizabeth A Hoge, Douglas N. Greve et al. 285 citations

Mindfulness training aims to impact emotion regulation. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms can be successfully addressed through mindfulness-based interventions. This preliminary study is the first to investigate neural mechanisms of symptom improvements in GAD following mindfulness training. Furthermore, we compared brain activation between GAD patients and healthy participants at...

DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2013.03.011 Generalized anxiety disorder Mindfulness-based stress reduction Amygdala Beck anxiety inventory +5

Stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala.

Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience March 1, 2010 Britta K. Hölzel, James Carmody, Karleyton C Evans et al.

Stress has significant adverse effects on health and is a risk factor for many illnesses. Neurobiological studies have implicated the amygdala as a brain structure crucial in stress responses. Whereas hyperactive amygdala function is often observed during stress conditions, cross-sectional reports of differences in gray matter structure have been less consistent. We conducted a longitudinal MRI...

DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsp034 Full text

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