Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
September 5, 2012
Jennifer S Mascaro, James K. Rilling, Lobsang Tenzin Negi et al.
225 citations
A randomized controlled trial tested whether an eight-week compassion meditation program (cognitive-based compassion training, CBCT) improves the ability to infer others' mental states from facial expressions. Twenty-one healthy adults completed the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test during fMRI scans before and after either CBCT or a health discussion control group. Those who completed CBCT showed significantly greater improvement in empathic accuracy scores and increased brain activity in the inferior frontal gyrus and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex compared to controls. Changes in these brain regions correlated with changes in empathic accuracy. The findings suggest CBCT may enhance empathic accuracy and its underlying neural mechanisms.
BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
June 1, 2012
Gaelle Desbordes, Riccardo Barbieri, Luca Citi et al.
Electrocardiogram recordings from eight healthy adults without prior meditation experience, collected as part of a larger randomized controlled trial, showed that an eight-week mindful-attention meditation intervention increased heart rate variability (HRV) and decreased the LF/HF ratio, indicating improved autonomic function and more predominant vagal tone. These changes were not seen in the control group. A marked increase in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) occurred during meditation compared to rest. The authors suggest RSA may be a useful marker of the meditative state and encourage further research on HRV measures as indicators of autonomic health after meditation.
Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy
January 1, 2021
Marcia J Ash, Elizabeth Reisinger Walker, Ralph J DiClemente et al.
Incorporating compassion meditation training into clinical pastoral education reduces burnout and anxiety among hospital chaplain residents, but the benefits may not last without ongoing practice. In a small study, 15 chaplain residents were assigned either to Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT) or a waitlist. Those who received CBCT reported significant decreases in burnout and anxiety compared to the waitlist group, though these effects were not maintained at a 4-month follow-up. Compassion satisfaction did not differ significantly but trended in the expected direction. The findings suggest that extending CBCT throughout residency could help sustain wellbeing improvements.
Frontiers in Psychology
July 4, 2016
Jennifer Streiffer Mascaro, Alana eDarcher, Lobsang Tenzin Negi et al.
A coherent theoretical model is lacking for how kindness-based meditation alters the brain and body, despite its growing use to enhance prosocial emotions and social cognition. This paper links contemplative accounts of compassion and loving-kindness practices with social cognitive neuroscience and social psychology to generate predictions. Depending on the specific practice, kindness-based meditation may enhance neural systems for faster perceptual or motor simulation, simulation of another's affective body state, slower perspective-taking, emotion regulation, and self/other discrimination. The model is discussed alongside best practices for testing it and implications for future research.
Neuroimage
April 1, 2013
Jennifer S Mascaro, James K. Rilling, Lobsang Tenzin Negi et al.
Activity in brain regions linked to empathy, such as the anterior insula, before training predicted how much time people later spent practicing compassion meditation, while activity in the amygdala, a region involved in threat processing, predicted less time practicing mindfulness meditation. After training, there was no difference in brain responses between the compassion meditation group and an active health education control group. The findings suggest that pre-existing neurobiological profiles may influence how readily individuals engage with different meditation techniques.
Psychoneuroendocrinology
January 1, 2009
Thaddeus W W Pace, Lobsang Tenzin Negi, Daniel D Adame et al.
Training in compassion meditation for six weeks did not, on average, reduce stress-induced inflammation, cortisol, or distress compared to a health discussion control group. However, among those who meditated more, greater practice time was linked to smaller increases in the inflammatory marker interleukin-6 and lower self-reported distress after a standardized stress test. People who meditated above the median amount showed less stress reactivity than those who meditated less or were in the control group. The findings suggest that regularly engaging in compassion meditation may dampen immune and emotional responses to stress, but more research is needed to confirm this link.