Effects of a brief mindfulness meditation practice on Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer in alcohol use disorder - a pilot study.
Annika Rosenthal, Maria Garbusow, Nina Romanczuk-Seiferth, Anne Beck
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2023 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1134458 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized within-subjects design Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 62 |
| Population | Healthy participants and participants with alcohol use disorder (AUD) |
| Intervention | body scan meditation |
| Topics | Meditation Addiction |
| Keywords | Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer Cue Intervention |
| Key points | A brief body scan meditation reduced the Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer effect in AUD participants but not in healthy controls. |
Abstract
Pavlovian conditioned contextual cues have been suggested to modulate instrumental action and might explain maladaptive behavior such as relapse in participants suffering from alcohol use disorder (AUD). Pavlovian-to-Instrumental transfer (PIT) experimentally assesses the magnitude of this context-dependent effect and studies have shown a larger PIT effect in AUD populations. Taken this into account, a reduction of the influence of cues on behavior seems warranted and one approach that could alter such cue reactivity is mindfulness. Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to be efficient in the treatment of AUD, but underlying mechanisms are yet to be elucidated. Therefore, we aim at investigating the effect of a brief mindful body scan meditation on the magnitude of the PIT effect in AUD subjects and matched controls. Using a randomized within-subjects design, we compared the effect of a short audio guided body scan meditation against a control condition (audio of nature sounds) on PIT in healthy (n = 35) and AUD (n = 27) participants. We found no differences in PIT effect between healthy and AUD participants as well as between conditions. However, a significant interaction effect points to a decreased PIT effect after body scan meditation in AUD subjects only. These pilot results suggest that AUD might be susceptible to mindfulness-induced changes in PIT, with these findings contributing to entangling the underlying mechanisms of the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions in AUD. However, further investigation should confirm these preliminary results and the efficacy of mindfulness meditation practice in decreasing the PIT effect.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on addiction, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cites 3
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Trait Mindfulness Predicts Attentional and Autonomic Regulation of Alcohol Cue-Reactivity. J Psychophysiol 2011
- Mindfulness training modifies cognitive, affective, and physiological mechanisms implicated in alcohol dependence: results of a randomized controlled pilot trial. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs June 1, 2010