Punishment on Pause: Preliminary Evidence That Mindfulness Training Modifies Neural Responses in a Reactive Aggression Task
Hadley Rahrig, James M. Bjork, Camila Tirado, David Chester, J. David Creswell, Emily K. Lindsay, J. Kim Penberthy, Kirk Warren Brown
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience July 23, 2021 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.689373 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 23 |
| Population | Healthy adults |
| Interventions | Mindfulness training Active coping training |
| Duration | 2 weeks |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Aggression Prefrontal cortex Cognition Clinical psychology Developmental psychology |
| Citations | 17 |
| Registration | NCT03485807 |
| Key findings | Mindfulness training and cognitive control training regulate aggression via different neural circuits and at different temporal stages of the provocation-aggression cycle. |
Abstract
Reactive aggression, a hostile retaliatory response to perceived threat, has been attributed to failures in emotion regulation. Interventions for reactive aggression have largely focused on cognitive control training, which target top-down emotion regulation mechanisms to inhibit aggressive impulses. Recent theory suggests that mindfulness training (MT) improves emotion regulation via both top-down and bottom-up neural mechanisms and has thus been proposed as an alternative treatment for aggression. Using this framework, the current pilot study examined how MT impacts functional brain physiology in the regulation of reactive aggression. Participants were randomly assigned to 2 weeks of MT ( n = 11) or structurally equivalent active coping training (CT) that emphasizes cognitive control ( n = 12). Following training, participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a retaliatory aggression task, a 16-trial game in which participants could respond to provocation by choosing whether or not to retaliate in the next round. Training groups did not differ in levels of aggression displayed. However, participants assigned to MT exhibited enhanced ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) recruitment during punishment events (i.e., the aversive consequence of losing) relative to those receiving active CT. Conversely, the active coping group demonstrated greater dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) activation when deciding how much to retaliate, in line with a bolstered top-down behavior monitoring function. The findings suggest that mindfulness and cognitive control training may regulate aggression via different neural circuits and at different temporal stages of the provocation-aggression cycle. Trial Registration: identification no. NCT03485807.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- EEG-based investigation of effects of mindfulness meditation training on state and trait by deep learning and traditional machine learning Frontiers in Human Neuroscience August 31, 2023
- Do contemplative practices make us more moral? Trends in Cognitive Sciences October 1, 2023
- The Mindful Scientist: How Meditation Could Support Ethical Scientific Practice Mindfulness September 2, 2025
- The Ethical Dimensions of Mindfulness in Public Health Mindfulness March 1, 2025
- Inside the mindful moment: The effects of brief mindfulness practice on large-scale network organization and intimate partner aggression. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience December 1, 2023
Cites 16
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Attending to the present: mindfulness meditation reveals distinct neural modes of self-reference Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience August 13, 2007
- Investigation of mindfulness meditation practitioners with voxel-based morphometry Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience December 3, 2007
- Minding one’s emotions: Mindfulness training alters the neural expression of sadness. Emotion February 1, 2010
and 11 more in the library