Mental health science
June 1, 2023
Lana Ruvolo Grasser, Hilary A Marusak
15 citations
Mind-body practices such as yoga, meditation, and aerobic exercise show promise for improving mental health in children and adolescents, whose rates of anxiety and depression are rising. However, gaps in funding, research on how these techniques affect the brain, and a lack of diversity among researchers and practitioners prevent them from being widely accepted as standard care by clinicians and insurers. The authors propose using the Expressive Therapies Continuum as a framework for future research and implementation, and they suggest solutions to policy and research gaps that could help prevent psychiatric illness and improve public health, especially in developing youth.
Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science
November 1, 2024
Isaac N Treves, Hilary A Marusak, Alexandra Decker et al.
7 citations
A significant finding reveals that adolescents with higher trait mindfulness experience lower anxiety and depression symptoms. An analysis of 106 adolescents, ages 12 to 15, identified a reliable brain state characterized by hyperconnectivity, showing an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.65. This state, marked by elevated positive connectivity between networks, was positively correlated with self-reported trait mindfulness. While most dynamic brain states were unreliable across scans, this hyperconnected state may reflect enhanced awareness and arousal in those exhibiting higher mindfulness traits.
Brain Imaging and Behavior
April 1, 2025
Jovan Jande, Isaac N Treves, Samantha L Ely et al.
4 citations
A systematic narrative review of neuroimaging studies on mindfulness-based interventions in youth (ages 5–18) found that such interventions may alter brain connectivity and activity. Analyzing 13 studies with 467 participants, most used a pre-post design with resting-state fMRI. Consistent patterns included increased functional connectivity within and between the salience, frontoparietal, and default mode networks, enhancements in white matter microstructure, and decreased default mode network activation with heightened salience network reactivity during mindfulness practice. These changes may support self-regulation and cognitive control, but methodological variability and small sample sizes limit generalizability.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
July 4, 2024
Isaac N Treves, Hilary A Marusak, Alexandra Decker et al.
3 citations
preprint
A highly reliable brain state linked to trait mindfulness was identified in adolescents, highlighting its potential role in mental health. In a study of 106 participants aged 12 to 15, one hyperconnected state showed good reliability (ICC=0.65) and correlated positively with self-reported trait mindfulness. Adolescents exhibiting higher trait mindfulness experienced lower anxiety and depression symptoms. While most dynamic brain states were unreliable across scans, this particular state suggests that increased mindfulness may enhance awareness and arousal, offering insights into adolescent mental well-being.
Pediatric blood & cancer
October 1, 2022
Aneesh Hehr, Allesandra Iadipaolo, Austin Morales et al.
Meditation techniques, including a martial arts-based form combining focused attention and mindful acceptance, lower activation in default mode network (DMN) regions—the medial frontal cortex, precuneus, and posterior cingulate cortex—in children with cancer when they watch distress-inducing video clips, compared to passively viewing the clips. Meditation may modulate DMN activity more effectively than distraction, a non-meditation emotion regulation strategy. No differences in self-reported distress ratings appeared between conditions. The findings suggest martial arts-based meditation alters negative self-referential processing linked to the DMN, with potential applications for managing pediatric pain and negative emotion.
Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.)
November 26, 2021
Mohammed M Faraj, Nina M Lipanski, Austin Morales et al.
A virtual reality-based meditative intervention for patients undergoing methadone maintenance treatment for opioid use disorder reduced self-reported pain, opioid craving, anxiety, and depression after each session, though anger did not change. Saliva cortisol levels also decreased after sessions, while C-reactive protein did not. Brain scans taken before and after the 12-week intervention showed decreased activation in the left postcentral gyrus during a pain task, and connectivity within the pain neuromatrix changed from baseline. These preliminary findings suggest the intervention is feasible and may have therapeutic benefits, supported by observable brain changes.
Behavioural Brain Research
January 15, 2018
Hilary A Marusak, Farrah Elrahal, Craig A Peters et al.
In children and adolescents aged 6-17, trait mindfulness is linked to dynamic, time-varying patterns of brain connectivity rather than to static connectivity. More mindful youth transitioned more frequently between different brain states, spent less time in a particular connectivity state, and showed reduced connectivity between salience/emotion and central executive networks in one state. The number of state transitions mediated the link between higher mindfulness and lower anxiety, suggesting a neural mechanism for mindfulness benefits on psychological health in youth.
Aneesh Hehr, Allesandra Iadipaolo, Austin Morales et al.
Martial arts-based meditation, compared to distraction or passive viewing, lowers activation in default mode network (DMN) regions—medial frontal cortex, precuneus, and posterior cingulate cortex—in children with cancer watching distress-inducing video clips. Meditation may be more effective than distraction for modulating DMN activity, though self-reported distress ratings did not differ between conditions. The findings suggest that meditation alters negative self-referential processing linked to the DMN, potentially aiding management of pediatric pain and negative emotion.