Neural Mechanisms of Mindful Disengagement from Worry
Ceci Westbrook, Janine M. Dutcher, Susan Kusmierski, J. David Creswell, Essang Akpan, Lauren S. Hallion
May 3, 2022 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/3he2b (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Preregistered |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 40 |
| Population | Participants with clinically significant worry |
| Interventions | focused attention acceptance suppression |
| Topics | Anxiety Default mode network Meditation |
| Keywords | Disengagement theory Worry Posterior cingulate Cognitive psychology Cognition Ventrolateral prefrontal cortex Clinical psychology |
| Key findings | All disengagement strategies downregulated default mode and upregulated frontoparietal and salience networks, with focused attention being most effective and associated with decreased activity in cognitive control and sensorimotor regions. |
Abstract
Uncontrollable worry is a hallmark of generalized anxiety disorder and a transdiagnostic feature of psychopathology. Mindfulness-based strategies show promise for treating worry, but neural mechanisms of mindful disengagement remain incompletely characterized. We recruited 40 participants with clinically significant worry to undergo fMRI while engaging in real-time, idiographic worry and instructed disengagement using two mindfulness strategies (focused attention; acceptance) and one comparison strategy (suppression). Hypotheses were preregistered and partially supported. All disengagement strategies downregulated default mode and upregulated frontoparietal and salience networks. Focused attention was most effective for promoting disengagement and elicited decreased activity in cognitive control and sensorimotor regions. Successful disengagement was associated with increased activity in rostrolateral prefrontal cortex and functional connectivity between posterior cingulate and primary somatosensory cortex. Findings support the role of cognitive control and somatosensory networks in disengagement from worry and suggest common and distinct mechanisms of disengagement, with focused attention a particularly promising strategy.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A default mode of brain function Normal adult human brain | 2001 | Observational study | |
| Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| 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 | |
| The precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex plays a pivotal role in the default mode network: Evidence from a partial correlation network analysis Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study |
Citations in the library
Cites 17
- The Brain's Default Mode Network Annual Review of Neuroscience May 4, 2015
- Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 26, 2009
- Mindfulness Interventions Annual Review of Psychology September 30, 2016
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- The salience network is responsible for switching between the default mode network and the central executive network: Replication from DCM Neuroimage May 24, 2014
and 12 more in the library