Mindfulness-oriented recovery enhancement in opioid use disorder: Extended emotional regulation and neural effects and immediate effects of guided meditation in a pilot sample.
Suchismita Ray, Jamil Bhanji, Nicole Kennelly, Helen C Fox, Patricia Dooley-Budsock, Mauricio Delgado, Nina A Cooperman, Eric L Garland
Explore (New York, N.Y.) 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2023.11.001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 9 |
| Population | Female participants in residential treatment for opioid use disorder |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) |
| Duration | 8-week intervention |
| Topics | Addiction Meditation |
| Keywords | Connectivity Emotion Women FMRI |
| Key points | An 8-week MORE intervention significantly decreased emotional regulation difficulty and increased functional connectivity in affect regulation brain networks during meditation, while a single 10-minute guided meditation improved mood but not opioid craving. |
Abstract
Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) is an efficacious intervention to aid recovery from substance use disorder. This study in a pilot sample of individuals in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) characterizes longer-term changes after the MORE intervention and immediate effects of a brief MORE guided meditation session. Twelve female participants in residential treatment for OUD completed an 8-week MORE intervention. Participants completed two sessions: one before and one after the 8-week MORE intervention. Each session included an emotional regulation questionnaire outside an MRI scanner first and then a 10-minute guided MORE meditation inside the scanner during which functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected. Emotional regulation was measured after 8-weeks of MORE intervention. In addition, functional connectivity (i.e. correlated fMRI signal) between regions in a hypothesized affect regulation network was measured during the meditation state to assess change in brain network function due to 8-weeks of MORE. For each 10-min guided meditation, we also assessed their mood and opioid craving. Nine participants completed all measurements. Participants' emotional regulation difficulty significantly decreased after 8-weeks of MORE intervention. Furthermore, after 8-weeks of MORE, there was significantly increased connectivity between left ventromedial prefrontal cortex and left amygdala and between left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and left nucleus accumbens captured during a meditation state. In both sessions, positive mood significantly increased after 10-min of guided mediation, however opioid craving was not significantly influenced. This pilot study characterizes potential benefits of 8-week MORE intervention in improving emotional regulation difficulty and brain function. A 10-min guided MORE meditation may immediately improve mood, with potential to reduce acute stress- or cue-provoked craving. These results warrant future studies with larger sample size.