Neural mechanisms supporting the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and pain.
Fadel Zeidan, Tim V Salomons, Suzan R Farris, Nichole M Emerson, Adrienne L Adler-Neal, Youngkyoo Jung, Robert C. Coghill
Pain December 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001344 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 76 |
| Population | Meditation-naive and healthy volunteers |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Higher trait mindfulness was associated with lower pain intensity and unpleasantness, and with greater deactivation of the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex during noxious stimulation. |
Abstract
Interindividual differences in pain sensitivity vary as a function of interactions between sensory, cognitive-affective, and dispositional factors. Trait mindfulness, characterized as the innate capacity to nonreactively sustain attention to the present moment, is a psychological construct that is associated with lower clinical pain outcomes. Yet, the neural mechanisms supporting dispositional mindfulness are unknown. In an exploratory data analysis obtained during a study comparing mindfulness to placebo analgesia, we sought to determine whether dispositional mindfulness is associated with lower pain sensitivity. We also aimed to identify the brain mechanisms supporting the postulated inverse relationship between trait mindfulness and pain in response to noxious stimulation. We hypothesized that trait mindfulness would be associated with lower pain and greater deactivation of the default mode network. Seventy-six meditation-naive and healthy volunteers completed the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory and were administered innocuous (35°C) and noxious stimulation (49°C) during perfusion-based functional magnetic resonance imaging. Higher Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory ratings were associated with lower pain intensity (P = 0.005) and pain unpleasantness ratings (P = 0.005). Whole brain analyses revealed that higher dispositional mindfulness was associated with greater deactivation of a brain region extending from the precuneus to posterior cingulate cortex during noxious heat. These novel findings demonstrate that mindful individuals feel less pain and evoke greater deactivation of brain regions supporting the engagement sensory, cognitive, and affective appraisals. We propose that mindfulness and the posterior cingulate cortex should be considered as important mechanistic targets for pain therapies.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 28
- Disentangling self from pain: mindfulness meditation–induced pain relief is driven by thalamic–default mode network decoupling Pain July 7, 2022
- Placebo effects contribute to brief online mindfulness interventions for chronic pain: results from an online randomized sham-controlled trial. Pain October 1, 2023
- Is Mindfulness Associated With Lower Pain Reactivity and Connectivity of the Default Mode Network? A Replication and Extension Study in Healthy and Episodic Migraine Participants Journal of Pain August 4, 2022
- Dynamic processes of mindfulness-based alterations in pain perception. Frontiers in Neuroscience 2023
- The role of endogenous opioids in mindfulness and sham mindfulness-meditation for the direct alleviation of evoked chronic low back pain: a randomized clinical trial. Neuropsychopharmacology June 1, 2024
and 23 more in the library
Cites 37
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering Psychological Science March 28, 2013
- Patterns of Brain Activity Supporting Autobiographical Memory, Prospection, and Theory of Mind, and Their Relationship to the Default Mode Network Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience July 6, 2009
- Fractionating the Default Mode Network: Distinct Contributions of the Ventral and Dorsal Posterior Cingulate Cortex to Cognitive Control Journal of Neuroscience March 2, 2011
and 32 more in the library