MBSR vs aerobic exercise in social anxiety: fMRI of emotion regulation of negative self-beliefs.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and aerobic exercise both reduce social anxiety, but MBSR produces greater improvements in emotion regulation when processing negative self-beliefs, as shown by fMRI. MBSR participants showed increased prefrontal cortex activation and decreased amygdala reactivity during negative self-belief challenges, while aerobic exercise led to more modest neural changes. The findings suggest that mindfulness training specifically enhances top-down emotion regulation circuitry, offering a distinct neural mechanism for alleviating social anxiety beyond general fitness benefits.

Study at a glance

Abstract

MBSR vs aerobic exercise in social anxiety: fMRI of emotion regulation of negative self-beliefs.