Bettina Forster

2 papers in the library · publishing 2022-2026

Papers

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Examining the Effect of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction on Pain Severity and Quality of Life in People Living With Fibromyalgia.

European journal of pain (London, England) April 1, 2026 Edward Walsh, Kayleigh Hart, Bettina Forster

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 trials involving 1,153 people with fibromyalgia (1,097 women) found that Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) does not significantly reduce pain severity compared with active control treatments, updating earlier guidance from 2013. MBSR did produce small improvements in quality of life at both short and long term follow up, and reduced pain catastrophising at long term follow up. Effects on pain severity and depression were only significant at short term follow up versus passive control. The certainty of evidence ranged from very low to moderate. The results suggest a lasting, mindfulness-specific mechanism that improves quality of life without directly reducing pain.

DOI: 10.1002/ejp.70239 Full text Meditation Chronic pain Persistent pain

The Effect of a Short Mindfulness Meditation on Somatosensory Attention

Mindfulness August 1, 2022 Orsolya Bokk, Bettina Forster

A brief 10-minute mindfulness meditation helped preserve attention resources in people who had never meditated before. The study measured a brain signal called the somatosensory P300, which is linked to attention, while participants counted rare tactile stimuli. In a control group that listened to an audio clip, P300 amplitudes decreased from the first to the second session, indicating habituation. In the meditation group, this decrease did not occur, suggesting that even a short meditation practice can prevent the typical drop in attentional neural responses. This preservation of the P300 amplitude may be an early neural mechanism through which mindfulness training improves executive attention.

DOI: 10.1007/s12671-022-01938-z