Brain Behavior and Immunity
April 12, 2022
Janine M. Dutcher, Steve W Cole, Adrian Williams et al.
29 citations
A 30-day smartphone-based mindfulness meditation training program reduced activity of the pro-inflammatory NF-κB transcription control pathway in stressed customer service workers, compared to a problem-solving control program. Both interventions lowered stress levels equally, but only mindfulness training produced a specific immunoregulatory benefit, suggesting it may be a particularly effective method for improving immune cell gene expression in stressful work environments.
Psychosomatic Medicine
March 3, 2021
Emily K. Lindsay, J. David Creswell, Harrison J. Stern et al.
18 citations
An 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program buffered increases in glucocorticoid resistance (GCR)—a measure of immune cells' reduced sensitivity to anti-inflammatory signals—among lonely older adults aged 65–85, compared with a matched health enhancement program. GCR increased in the control group from before to after the intervention, while the MBSR group showed a small, nonsignificant reduction. The between-group difference was moderate immediately after the program but was not maintained at a 3-month follow-up. The findings suggest MBSR may protect against short-term declines in immune regulation in at-risk older adults.
Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science
January 1, 2023
Ceci Westbrook, Janine M. Dutcher, Susan Kusmierski et al.
7 citations
Uncontrollable worry is a core feature of generalized anxiety disorder and other mental health conditions. Mindfulness-based strategies can help reduce worry, but it is unclear which specific techniques work best and how they affect the brain. In a study of 40 participants with clinically significant worry, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used while they engaged in real-time worry and then tried to disengage using two mindfulness strategies (focused attention, acceptance) and one comparison strategy (suppression). All disengagement strategies reduced activity in the default mode network and increased activity in frontoparietal and salience networks, indicating shared mechanisms.
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.
May 3, 2022
Ceci Westbrook, Janine M. Dutcher, Susan Kusmierski et al.
preprint
Uncontrollable worry, common in generalized anxiety disorder and other conditions, can be reduced by mindfulness strategies. In 40 participants with clinically significant worry, fMRI showed that three disengagement strategies—focused attention, acceptance, and suppression—all reduced activity in the default mode network and increased activity in frontoparietal and salience networks. Focused attention was most effective, decreasing activity in cognitive control and sensorimotor regions. Successful disengagement correlated with increased activity in the rostrolateral prefrontal cortex and stronger connectivity between the posterior cingulate and primary somatosensory cortex. These findings suggest both shared and distinct neural mechanisms, with focused attention being a particularly promising strategy for disengaging from worry.
The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences
November 5, 2025
Janine M. Dutcher, Kirk W Brown, Emily K. Lindsay et al.
Loneliness is a major risk factor for illness and early death in older adults, yet interventions that simply increase social contact have shown limited success. Two randomized controlled trials tested whether an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program could reduce loneliness in older adults. In the first trial, MBSR significantly reduced loneliness compared to a waitlist control. In the second trial, both MBSR and a Health Enhancement Program (HEP) reduced loneliness to a similar degree, with no significant difference between them. Neither depressive symptoms, stress, sex, age, nor homework completion influenced the results. Both MBSR and HEP appear to be promising approaches for reducing loneliness in older adults, with effects lasting months.
Brain, behavior, and immunity
May 1, 2022
Emily K. Lindsay, J. D. Creswell, Harrison J. Stern et al.
Mindfulness training may boost immune responsivity in lonely older adults. In a trial of 190 adults aged 65–85, an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program led to greater increases in stimulated interleukin-6 production—a marker of innate immune function—compared to a control health program. The effect was seen immediately after the intervention and persisted at a 3-month follow-up. No adverse events occurred. The findings suggest that mindfulness training could help counteract age- and stress-related declines in immunocompetence, potentially reducing infection risk and improving recovery.