Positive Shifts in Emotion Evaluation Following Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in Remitted Depressed Participants
Kate Williams, Rebecca Elliott, Thorsten Barnhofer, Roland Zahn, Ian M. Anderson
Mindfulness March 1, 2021 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-020-01521-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Non-randomized preference choice trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 115 |
| Population | Adults with remitted major depression and never-depressed controls |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy |
| Duration | 8-week intervention, immediate post-intervention assessment |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Registration | NCT02226042 |
| Key findings | MBCT produced a shift from less negative to more positive emotion evaluations in remitted depression participants, correlated with mindfulness practice and self-reported mindfulness change. |
Abstract
Abstract Objectives A combination of negatively biased information processing and a reduced ability to experience positive emotions can persist into remission from major depression (rMDD). Studies have shown that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) can increase self-reported positive emotions in rMDD participants; similar changes using neuropsychological tasks have not been shown. In this study, we investigated neuropsychological change in emotional processing following MBCT in rMDD participants.
Methods: Seventy-three rMDD participants, 40 of whom received MBCT and 33 of whom continued with treatment as usual (TAU), and 42 never depressed participants took part; neither the TAU nor never depressed participants received MBCT. All were assessed at baseline and immediately following MBCT or after an 8-week gap for those without active intervention. Participants completed emotion evaluation and face emotion recognition tasks with self-report measures (mood, mindfulness) at each session.
Results: Results showed an MBCT-specific shift in ratings from less negative to more positive emotion evaluations, which correlated with mindfulness practice and self-report mindfulness change. Both the MBCT and TAU groups showed a small increase in overall face emotion recognition accuracy compared with no change in never depressed participants.
Conclusions: These findings support a specific role for MBCT in encouraging more positive evaluations of life situations in those with previous depression rather than influencing lower-level processing of emotions. Results should be interpreted cautiously given that this was a non-randomised, preference choice trial.
Trial Registration: NCT02226042