Brain Network Organization During Mindful Acceptance of Emotions
Matthew L. Dixon, Manesh Girn, Kalina Christoff
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) April 1, 2020 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2020.03.31.018697 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Mindful acceptance Narrative-evaluation |
| Topics | Anxiety Default mode network |
| Keywords | Salience neuroscience Cognitive psychology Narrative Insula Feeling Cognition |
| Citations | 14 |
| Key findings | Mindful acceptance, compared to narrative-evaluation, was associated with increased global network connectivity, greater integration of interoceptive regions, reorganization of motivational circuits, and a shift from default network to frontoparietal control network regions as central hubs. |
Abstract
Abstract Individuals use various strategies to cope with challenging emotions such as anxiety. Mindful acceptance involves broadening attentional scope and fully experiencing present moment sensory feelings (whether pleasant or unpleasant) without judgment or elaboration. In contrast, narrative-evaluation involves focusing on a narrow band of sensory experience and generating an elaborate narrative about the meaning and desirability of one’s emotional feelings. The current study examined brain network organization during these strategies using graph theoretic analyses. We used a naturalistic task paradigm in which participants reflected on an anxiety-provoking issue from their personal lives and adopted each strategy in different blocks. Compared to narrative-evaluation, mindful acceptance was associated with: (i) increased global network connectivity; (ii) greater integration of interoceptive regions (mid and posterior insula) into large-scale networks; (iii) reorganization of motivational circuits including a shift in the striatum’s network assignment from the default network to the salience network; and (iv) a shift from default network to frontoparietal control network (FPCN) regions as central hubs that coordinate information flow. Functional connectivity patterns within the left FPCN were associated with acceptance reports. Thus, broadening attentional scope during mindful acceptance is supported by a more globally interconnected neural landscape, as well as greater information flow through FPCN regions that underlie metacognitive awareness and cognitive control.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A default mode of brain function Normal adult human brain | 2001 | Observational study | |
| Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| The precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex plays a pivotal role in the default mode network: Evidence from a partial correlation network analysis Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Mindfulness Meditation and Network Neuroscience: Review, Synthesis, and Future Directions. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging April 1, 2025
- The dynamic framework of mind wandering revisited: How mindful meta-awareness affects mental states' constraints. Consciousness and Cognition October 1, 2021
- Inside the mindful moment: The effects of brief mindfulness practice on large-scale network organization and intimate partner aggression. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience December 1, 2023
- Classification of Mindfulness Meditation and Its Impact on Neural Measures in the Clinical Population. Frontiers in Psychology 2022
Cites 40
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 26, 2009
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
and 35 more in the library