A mindfulness-based intervention to reduce altered brain reward function in cannabis use disorder: a double-blind, active and passive, randomised controlled fMRI trial.
Emillie Beyer, Martine Skumlien, Govinda Poudel, Arush Honnedevasthana Arun, Eugene McTavish, Hannah Thomson, Hannah Sehl, Rebecca A. Segrave, Adam Clemente, I. Labuschagne, Peter Rendell, Gill Terrett, L. Greenwood, Victoria Manning, Tom P. Freeman, Sunjeev K. Kamboj, Chao Suo, Valentina Lorenzetti
Psychopharmacology May 7, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-026-07073-0 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Double-blind Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 49 |
| Population | Individuals with moderate-to-severe Cannabis Use Disorder |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-based intervention Relaxation |
| Duration | 2-week intervention |
| Measures | Monetary Incentive Delay fMRI task |
| Topics | Cannabis Meditation |
| Key findings | A 2-week mindfulness-based intervention altered brain activity in regions outside the a priori reward network, such as decreasing cerebellar activity during reward anticipation and increasing parietal activity during reward receipt, whereas relaxation and no intervention produced distinct changes in partially overlapping regions; no significant effects were found in predefined reward regions. |
Abstract
Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) affects ~ 50 million individuals worldwide and is associated with alterations in brain reward pathways. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) show promise in reducing substance use and aberrant brain function in substance use disorders (SUD), but the effects on CUD or brain reward function have not been investigated. To examine whether a 2-week MBI vs. active control (i.e., closely matched relaxation) and passive control (i.e., no intervention) affected brain reward function in CUD using the Monetary Incentive Delay fMRI task, 49 individuals with moderate-to-severe CUD were randomised to: a 2-week MBI (n = 18), active control condition (n = 15), or passive control condition (n = 16), and assessed before and after the intervention. The effect of intervention-by-time was analysed using an exploratory whole-brain approach and a priori regions-of-interest approach (ROIs; ventral striatum, dorsal caudate, putamen, insula, cingulate, and orbitofrontal cortices). Whole-brain results revealed significant intervention-by-time effects. Post-MBI, there was: decreased cerebellum activity while anticipating monetary cues, increased parietal activity while receiving monetary wins, and decreased fusiform/superior frontal gyri (SFG) activity while receiving monetary wins. Post-relaxation, activity increased in several regions (i.e., hippocampus, insula, parietal cortex, fusiform, and SFG) during the receipt of monetary wins. Post-no intervention, activity increased in the cerebellum while anticipating monetary cues, and decreased in other areas (i.e., parietal cortex, hippocampus, and insula) while receiving monetary wins. There were no significant intervention-by-time effects using the ROI approach. Overall, MBI, matched relaxation, and no intervention may share changes in partially overlapping brain regions in distinct directions.