Neural correlates of mindfulness meditation-related anxiety relief
Fadel Zeidan, Katherine T. Martucci, Robert A Kraft, John G. Mchaffie, Robert C. Coghill
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience April 24, 2013 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nst041 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Within-subjects experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 15 |
| Population | Healthy adults with no prior meditation experience |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation training |
| Duration | 4 days of mindfulness meditation training |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Insula Posterior cingulate Clinical psychology Anterior cingulate cortex Cognition Prefrontal cortex |
| Citations | 196 |
| Key findings | Mindfulness meditation, but not breath-attention distraction, reduced state anxiety, and this relief was associated with activation in the anterior cingulate cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and anterior insula. |
Abstract
Anxiety is the cognitive state related to the inability to control emotional responses to perceived threats. Anxiety is inversely related to brain activity associated with the cognitive regulation of emotions. Mindfulness meditation has been found to regulate anxiety. However, the brain mechanisms involved in meditation-related anxiety relief are largely unknown. We employed pulsed arterial spin labeling MRI to compare the effects of distraction in the form of attending to the breath (ATB; before meditation training) to mindfulness meditation (after meditation training) on state anxiety across the same subjects. Fifteen healthy subjects, with no prior meditation experience, participated in 4 d of mindfulness meditation training. ATB did not reduce state anxiety, but state anxiety was significantly reduced in every session that subjects meditated. Meditation-related anxiety relief was associated with activation of the anterior cingulate cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex and anterior insula. Meditation-related activation in these regions exhibited a strong relationship to anxiety relief when compared to ATB. During meditation, those who exhibited greater default-related activity (i.e. posterior cingulate cortex) reported greater anxiety, possibly reflecting an inability to control self-referential thoughts. These findings provide evidence that mindfulness meditation attenuates anxiety through mechanisms involved in the regulation of self-referential thought processes.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on anxiety, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 63
- Mindfulness Meditation and Psychopathology Annual Review of Clinical Psychology December 11, 2018
- Mindfulness meditation–based pain relief: a mechanistic account Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences June 1, 2016
- Mindfulness meditation training alters stress-related amygdala resting state functional connectivity: a randomized controlled trial Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience June 5, 2015
- The Influence of Buddhist Meditation Traditions on the Autonomic System and Attention BioMed Research International 2015
- The impact of a brief mindfulness training on interoception: A randomized controlled trial PLoS One September 7, 2022
and 58 more in the library
Cites 27
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2003
- Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders American Journal of Psychiatry July 1, 1992
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
and 22 more in the library