The mechanism of mindfulness meditation on pain by functional magnetic resonance imaging method
Y. Yıldız, S. Kocahan, Alp Eren Çelenlioğlu, M. Özler
The European Research Journal April 12, 2023 DOI: 10.18621/eurj.1245845 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Mindfulness meditation may reduce pain and accompanying cognitive and affective disturbances through mechanisms observable with fMRI. |
Abstract
Pain is a subjective feeling having sensory, cognitive and emotional components. Brain regions that cognitively and affectively contribute to pain sensation are the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), insula, prefontal cortex (PFC) and the default mode network (DMN). Depression and anxiety may accompany pain and they may exaggerate the pain via cognitive and affective disturbance. As a complementary treatment of pain, mindfulness meditation which is a therapeutic technique may be described as “non-judgmental awareness of the present moment”. Mindfulness meditation aims to focus on the experiences of bodily sensations and breathing in a non-judgmental and accepting manner. The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is one of the tools that can explain the mechanism of action of mindfulness meditation on pain intensity, pain unpleasantness and the cognitive and affective disorders which accompanying pain. This study compiles studies examining the mechanism of action of mindfulness meditation on pain and pain accompanying pain unpleasantness, depression, anxiety with fMRI.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations | 2003 | Review | |
| Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects | 2007 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Interventions | 2016 | Review | |
| Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation | 2017 | Review | |
| Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cites 20
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Functional Reorganization of the Default Mode Network across Chronic Pain Conditions PLoS One September 2, 2014
- Enhanced Medial Prefrontal-Default Mode Network Functional Connectivity in Chronic Pain and Its Association with Pain Rumination Journal of Neuroscience March 12, 2014
- Mindfulness meditation–based pain relief: a mechanistic account Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences June 1, 2016
- Pain Attenuation through Mindfulness is Associated with Decreased Cognitive Control and Increased Sensory Processing in the Brain Cerebral Cortex December 15, 2011
and 15 more in the library