Interoceptive awareness: MBSR training alters information processing of salience network
Shiao-Fei Guu, Yi-Ping Chao, Feng-Ying Huang, Yu‐Ting Cheng, Hei-Yin Hydra Ng, Chia-Fen Hsu, Chun-Hsiang Chuang, Chih-Mao Huang, Changwei W Wu
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience March 21, 2023 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1008086 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Controlled trial with waitlist control group Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 32 |
| Population | Meditation-naïve adults |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program |
| Duration | 8-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Salience neuroscience Breathing Resting State FMRI Cognitive psychology Neuroimaging Audiology Clinical psychology |
| Citations | 28 |
| Key findings | Breathing and body scan practices after MBSR produce distinct functional connectivity changes in the salience network, with breathing increasing occipital connectivity and body scan increasing fronto-central connectivity and parietal local coherence. |
Abstract
Mindfulness refers to a mental state of awareness of internal experience without judgment. Studies have suggested that each mindfulness practice may involve a unique mental state, but the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms remain unknown. Here we examined how distinct mindfulness practices after mindfulness-based intervention alter brain functionality. Specifically, we investigated the functional alterations of the salience network (SN) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) among the two interoceptive mindfulness practices—breathing and body scan—associated with interoceptive awareness in fixed attention and shifted attention, respectively. Long-distance functional connectivity (FC) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) approaches were applied to measure distant and local neural information processing across various mental states. We hypothesized that mindful breathing and body scan would yield a unique information processing pattern in terms of long-range and local functional connectivity (FC). A total of 18 meditation-naïve participants were enrolled in an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program alongside a waitlist control group ( n = 14), with both groups undergoing multiple fMRI sessions during breathing, body scan and resting state for comparison. We demonstrated that two mindfulness practices affect both the long-distance FC SN and the local ReHo, only apparent after the MBSR program. Three functional distinctions between the mindfulness practices and the resting state are noted: (1) distant SN connectivity to occipital regions increased during the breathing practice (fixed attention), whereas the SN increased connection with the frontal/central gyri during the body scan (shifting attention); (2) local ReHo increased only in the parietal lobe during the body scan (shifting attention); (3) distant and local connections turned into a positive correlation only during the mindfulness practices after the MBSR training, indicating a global enhancement of the SN information processing during mindfulness practices. Though with limited sample size, the functional specificity of mindfulness practices offers a potential research direction on neuroimaging of mindfulness, awaiting further studies for verification.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 11
- Interoception and body image in breast cancer patients: a mindfulness-based stress reduction protocol. Frontiers in Psychology 2024
- Brain Networks, Neurotransmitters and Psychedelics: Towards a Neurochemistry of Self-Awareness. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports August 1, 2024
- Meditation and interoception: a conceptual framework for the narrative and experiential self. Frontiers in Psychology October 16, 2024
- ENIGMA-Meditation: Worldwide Consortium for Neuroscientific Investigations of Meditation Practices. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging April 1, 2025
- Interoceptive Mindful Breathing: The ISAAA Model for Attentional–Autonomic Alignment Mindfulness August 20, 2026
and 6 more in the library
Cites 24
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2003
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Neural mechanisms of attentional control in mindfulness meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience 2013
- Breath of Life: The Respiratory Vagal Stimulation Model of Contemplative Activity Frontiers in Human Neuroscience October 9, 2018
and 19 more in the library