Mindful Positive Emotion Regulation as a Treatment for Addiction: From Hedonic Pleasure to Self-Transcendent Meaning.
Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences April 24, 2021 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.03.019 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Addiction |
| Keywords | Opioid Reward Positive affect Hedonic Savoring Mindfulness-oriented recovery enhancement |
| Key points | Argues that mindfulness may reduce addictive behavior by enhancing positive affective mechanisms such as savoring natural rewards, self-generating interoceptive reward responses, and cultivating self-transcendent meaning, thereby shifting reward processing from drug-related rewards back to natural rewards and hypothetically restoring default mode network function. |
Abstract
Chronic drug use is theorized to induce cortico-striatal neuroplasticity, driving an allostatic process marked by increased sensitivity to drug-related cues and decreased sensitivity to natural rewards that results in anhedonia and a dearth of positive affect. As such, positive emotion regulation represents a key mechanistic target for addictions treatment. This paper provides a conceptual model detailing how mindfulness may synergize a range of positive affective mechanisms to reduce addictive behavior, from savoring the hedonic pleasure derived from natural rewards, to self-generating interoceptive reward responses, and ultimately to cultivating self-transcendent meaning. These therapeutic processes may restructure reward processing from over-valuation of drug-related rewards back to valuation of natural rewards, and hypothetically, "reset" the default mode network dysfunction that undergirds addiction.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelics as Medicines: An Emerging New Paradigm General population | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Restructuring reward processing with Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement: novel therapeutic mechanisms to remediate hedonic dysregulation in addiction, stress, and pain. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ayahuasca’s entwined efficacy: An ethnographic study of ritual healing from ‘addiction’ | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Hypotheses Regarding the Mechanisms of Ayahuasca in the Treatment of Addictions | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Biosynthesis of an Anti-Addiction Agent from the Iboga Plant. | 2019 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 14
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Clinical Practice: A Systematic Review of Neurocognitive Outcomes and Applications for Mental Health and Well-Being. Journal of Clinical Medicine March 3, 2025
- Mindfulness-induced endogenous theta stimulation occasions self-transcendence and inhibits addictive behavior. Science Advances October 14, 2022
- Exploration of Evolution-Informed Compassion-Focused Therapy and Buddhist Approaches to Insight Meditation: A Three-Way Exploration Mindfulness June 21, 2023
- Mindfulness in Mental Health and Psychiatric Disorders of Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Pediatric Reports May 14, 2025
- Enhancing Chronic Non-Cancer Pain Management: A Systematic Review of Mindfulness Therapies and Guided Imagery Interventions. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) April 23, 2024
and 9 more in the library
Cites 14
- Increased Global Functional Connectivity Correlates with LSD-Induced Ego Dissolution. Current Biology April 13, 2016
- Me, myself, bye: regional alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin. Neuropsychopharmacology November 1, 2020
- Neural correlates of nondual awareness in meditation. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2014
- Restructuring reward processing with Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement: novel therapeutic mechanisms to remediate hedonic dysregulation in addiction, stress, and pain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences April 1, 2016
- A Systematic Review of Transcendent States Across Meditation and Contemplative Traditions. Explore 2018
and 9 more in the library