A clinical trial tested whether adding vibration to breath-focused mindfulness meditation (VABF) reduces respiration rate or variability in trauma-exposed adults with dissociation. 128 participants were randomly assigned to VABF, breath-focus only, vibration only, or open awareness. VABF decreased respiration variability across visits, while all other interventions increased it. Respiration variability was positively associated with anxiety and anger ratings. The findings suggest respiration variability is a meaningful metric for examining regulatory processes and is modifiable through VABF, which holds promise as an intervention for trauma-exposed populations.
Sternal vibration paired with mindfulness meditation improved body awareness and increased neurite density in the corticospinal tract in trauma-exposed adults with elevated dissociative symptoms. In a study of 116 participants, those who received sternal vibration (n=60) showed significant improvements in body awareness and increased neurite density index in the left cerebral peduncle compared to those without vibration (n=56). Increased neurite density in the left and right corticospinal tracts was also observed. Decreased body dissociation correlated with increased neurite density only in the vibration group. The findings suggest sternal vibration as a low-cost neurostimulation method that may enhance interoception through neuroplastic changes.
Temporal interference (TI) electrical stimulation targeting the ventral striatum during mindfulness meditation increased the reward positivity (RewP) brain response and reduced anxiety in healthy adults. Nineteen participants (ages 18-36) received both active 8 Hz TI and sham stimulation across two sessions while meditating. Active TI, but not sham, boosted the RewP difference between winning and losing from before to after meditation, an effect that persisted in those who received active TI first. The RewP increase was driven by larger responses to wins. Anxiety decreased only with active TI, and this emotional change corresponded with greater RewP to wins. The findings suggest TI can engage deep reward circuits during meditation, producing short-term neural and emotional effects.
Temporal interference (TI) electrical stimulation can target the ventral striatum (VS) during breath-focused mindfulness meditation to alter reward processing and emotionality. In 19 healthy adults aged 18–36, active 8 Hz TI stimulation, compared to sham, increased the reward positivity potential (RewP) in EEG recordings during a reward task, indicating engagement of the VS. The effect was specific to reward processing, not an unrelated brain response. Active TI also reduced negative emotionality, and these emotional changes corresponded with increased RewP amplitude. The findings suggest TI can precisely target deep brain structures and produce short-term continued effects on reward-related functioning when combined with meditation.