The neural mechanisms of mindfulness-based pain relief: a functional magnetic resonance imaging-based review and primer.

This review describes how mindfulness-based practices reduce pain by altering brain activity, as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging. It explains that mindfulness meditation engages brain regions involved in attention regulation and body awareness, such as the anterior cingulate cortex and insula, while reducing activity in areas that process the sensory and emotional aspects of pain, including the thalamus and primary somatosensory cortex. The primer aims to help researchers understand and apply these neural mechanisms in future studies.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The neural mechanisms of mindfulness-based pain relief: a functional magnetic resonance imaging-based review and primer.