Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2017
Rahil Rojiani, Juan F. Santoyo, Hadley Rahrig et al.
232 citations
Women who took a 12-week college meditation course showed greater decreases in negative affect and larger increases in mindfulness and self-compassion than men. Women's improvements in negative affect were linked to gains in both mindfulness skills and self-compassion, while men showed non-significant increases in negative affect and their affect changes correlated only with the ability to describe emotions, not with experiential or self-acceptance measures. The findings suggest that women may respond more favorably than men to school-based mindfulness training and that tailoring interventions by gender could improve effectiveness.
Journal of school psychology
June 1, 2018
Yoona Kang, Hadley Rahrig, Kristina Eichel et al.
143 citations
Sixth graders who practiced short mindfulness meditation sessions four to five times per week for six weeks reported greater improvement in emotional wellbeing than those in an active control group. Gender moderated the effect: female meditators showed larger increases in positive affect compared to control females, while males in both groups improved equally. Among females only, gains in self-compassion were linked to better affect. The results suggest school-based mindfulness training benefits early adolescents, with distinct responses by gender.
Scientific Reports
July 18, 2022
Hadley Rahrig, David R. Vago, Matthew A. Passarelli et al.
83 citations
A meta-analysis of twelve studies (226 mindfulness participants, 204 controls) found that mindfulness training increased resting-state functional connectivity between the left middle cingulate cortex (part of the salience network) and the posterior cingulate cortex (a hub of the default mode network), compared to control conditions. This effect, though small (Hedge's g = 0.234), was statistically significant and showed low heterogeneity across studies. The result supports the idea that mindfulness training enhances communication between brain networks involved in flexible, internally-oriented attentional control. No evidence of publication bias was detected.
Frontiers in Psychology
November 22, 2021
Willoughby B. Britton, Gaelle Desbordes, Rebecca L. Acabchuk et al.
77 citations
Self-related processes (SRPs) such as rumination, self-compassion, self-efficacy, and self-esteem are theorized to be key mechanisms of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). This evidence map introduces a framework for categorizing SRPs and assesses how well mindfulness training engages these targets and whether engagement relates to improved outcomes. Rumination shows the strongest evidence as a mechanism for depression, with support for other health outcomes as well. Self-compassion consistently engages with mindfulness training but inconsistently links to better outcomes. Decentering and interoception are emerging potential mechanisms, though their construct validity remains under development. Few SRPs have been measured in MBIs, and more research with well-validated measures is needed.
Psychophysiology
February 19, 2022
Kirk Warren Brown, Daniel R. Berry, Kristina Eichel et al.
38 citations
Mindfulness-based trainings like Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teach two meditation forms: focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM). A dismantling trial compared structurally equivalent 8-week trainings in MBCT, FA, and OM among 89 community adults with varying depressive symptoms. Electroencephalographic (EEG) frontal alpha asymmetry and self-reported emotional responses to images were measured before and after training. FA and MBCT produced leftward shifts in frontal alpha asymmetry, indicating a shift toward approach-based positive affect, and improved self-reported emotional reactivity and regulation for negative images. OM showed limited benefits, restricted to subjective outcomes. The findings suggest MBCT's benefits may come mainly from FA training.
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
July 23, 2021
Hadley Rahrig, James M. Bjork, Camila Tirado et al.
17 citations
Reactive aggression, a hostile response to perceived threat, has been linked to emotion regulation failures. A pilot study compared two weeks of mindfulness training (MT) to active coping training (CT) in healthy adults, using fMRI during a retaliatory aggression task. The groups did not differ in aggression levels. However, MT participants showed greater ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) activity during punishment events, while CT participants showed greater dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) activity when deciding retaliation. The findings suggest mindfulness and cognitive control training may regulate aggression through different neural circuits at different stages of provocation.
Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging
April 1, 2025
Saampras Ganesan, Fernando A Barrios, Ishaan Batta et al.
6 citations
Meditation practices, which have shown therapeutic benefits for conditions like depression, pain, addiction, and anxiety, have been studied with neuroimaging over the past decade. However, existing neuroscientific models are based on small, heterogeneous datasets, limiting generalizability and replicability. The ENIGMA-Meditation consortium is the first worldwide collaborative effort to conduct systematic meta- and mega-analyses of globally distributed neuroimaging data using standardized methods. This framework aims to improve statistical power and address multidomain heterogeneity in meditation practice types, experience, and experimental design. The consortium will generate rigorous neuroscientific insights into the mechanisms underlying meditation's therapeutic effects on psychological and cognitive attributes.
April 8, 2024
Saampras Ganesan, Aki Tsuchiyagaito, Greg J Siegle et al.
2 citations
preprint
Meditation practices, which have been adapted into manualized interventions for conditions like depression, pain, addiction, and anxiety, show therapeutic promise, but their neuroscientific basis remains unclear. Current neuroimaging studies rely on small, heterogeneous datasets that vary in practice types, participant experience, clinical targets, and imaging methods, limiting generalizability and replicability. To address this, the ENIGMA-Meditation consortium was formed as a global collaboration to conduct systematic meta- and mega-analyses of distributed neuroimaging data using standardized methods. This framework aims to improve statistical power and rigorously characterize the neural mechanisms underlying meditation's effects on psychological and cognitive attributes, advancing the field of contemplative neuroscience.
Research Square
January 6, 2022
Hadley Rahrig, David R. Vago, Matthew A. Passarelli et al.
2 citations
Mindfulness training increases resting-state functional connectivity between the salience network and the default mode network, specifically between the left middle cingulate and the posterior cingulate cortex. This finding supports the idea that mindfulness enhances flexible control of internally-oriented attention. The meta-analysis included 12 studies with 226 mindfulness participants and 204 controls. The effect was small but significant, and there was no evidence of publication bias.
October 18, 2023
Hadley Rahrig, Liangsuo Ma, Kirk Warren Brown et al.
preprint
A brief mindfulness induction altered functional brain networks in intimate partner dyads, reducing coherence within the Default Mode Network and increasing connectivity within the Frontoparietal Control and Salience Networks, while decoupling primary visual and attention-linked networks. However, these neural changes did not translate into reduced intimate partner aggression, and aggression was broadly unassociated with any network indices. The findings suggest that minimal doses of focused attention meditation can produce transient changes in large-scale brain networks, but their implications for aggressive behavior remain uncertain.
Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience
December 1, 2023
Hadley Rahrig, Liangsuo Ma, Kirk Warren Brown et al.
A brief mindfulness induction—a single session of focused attention meditation—altered large-scale brain networks in intimate partner dyads. In 100 participants (50 couples), mindfulness instruction reduced coherence within the Default Mode Network and increased connectivity in the Frontoparietal Control and Salience Networks, while decoupling visual and attention-linked networks. However, these neural changes did not translate into reduced intimate partner aggression, and aggression was unrelated to any network measures. The results suggest that minimal doses of mindfulness can produce transient brain network changes, but their behavioral implications for aggression remain unclear.