Mindfulness Training Changes Brain Dynamics During Depressive Rumination: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Anne Maj van der Velden, Jacqueline Scholl, Else-Marie Elmholdt, Lone O Fjorback, Catherine J Harmer, Sara W. Lazar, Mia S O'Toole, Jonathan Smallwood, Andreas Roepstorff, Willem Kuyken
Biological Psychiatry February 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.06.038 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 80 |
| Population | Adults with recurrent depression |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy |
| Topics | Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | Interoceptive awareness Mechanisms Neural connectivity Rumination |
| Key findings | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy decreased salience network connectivity to the lingual gyrus during rumination, which mediated improvements in sustaining attention to body sensations. |
Abstract
Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide and its prevalence is on the rise. One of the most debilitating aspects of depression is the dominance and persistence of depressive rumination, a state of mind that is linked to onset and recurrence of depression. Mindfulness meditation trains adaptive attention regulation and present-moment embodied awareness, skills that may be particularly useful during depressive mind states characterized by negative ruminative thoughts. In a randomized controlled functional magnetic resonance imaging study (N = 80), we looked at the neurocognitive mechanisms behind mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (n = 50) for recurrent depression compared with treatment as usual (n = 30) across experimentally induced states of rest, mindfulness practice and rumination, and the relationship with dispositional psychological processes. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy compared with treatment as usual led to decreased salience network connectivity to the lingual gyrus during a ruminative state, and this change in salience network connectivity mediated improvements in the ability to sustain and control attention to body sensations. These findings showed that a clinically effective mindfulness intervention modulates neurocognitive functioning during depressive rumination and the ability to sustain attention to the body.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 32
- Beyond the serotonin deficit hypothesis: communicating a neuroplasticity framework of major depressive disorder. Molecular Psychiatry December 1, 2024
- Mindful attention promotes control of brain network dynamics for self-regulation and discontinues the past from the present Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 3, 2023
- Longitudinal neurofunctional changes in medication overuse headache patients after mindfulness practice in a randomized controlled trial (the MIND-CM study). The Journal of Headache and Pain June 11, 2024
- Neural correlates of mindfulness meditation and hypnosis on magnetic resonance imaging: similarities and differences. A scoping review. Journal of neuroradiology = Journal de neuroradiologie March 1, 2024
- Change starts with the body: Interoceptive appreciation mediates the effect of mindfulness training on behavior change - an effect moderated by depression severity. Psychiatry Research December 1, 2024
and 27 more in the library
Cites 15
- Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Assessment February 29, 2008
- Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse JAMA Psychiatry April 28, 2016
- Minding one’s emotions: Mindfulness training alters the neural expression of sadness. Emotion February 1, 2010
- Antidepressants Normalize the Default Mode Network in Patients With Dysthymia JAMA Psychiatry February 6, 2013
- Mindfulness is associated with intrinsic functional connectivity between default mode and salience networks Frontiers in Human Neuroscience August 25, 2015
and 10 more in the library