Mindfulness meditation modulates reward prediction errors in a passive conditioning task.
Ulrich Kirk, P Read Montague
Frontiers in Psychology 2015 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00090 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational fMRI case-control study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Experienced mindfulness meditators and age-matched controls |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Classical Conditioning FMRI Bold Interoceptive awareness Reward processing |
| Key findings | Meditators showed diminished positive and negative reward prediction error-related BOLD responses in the putamen compared with controls, paralleled by increased posterior insula activity in the meditator group. Putamen responses during early conditioning trials were elevated in both groups. The authors argue these results indicate that experienced meditators can attenuate reward prediction signals to valenced stimuli, possibly linked to interoceptive processes. |
Abstract
Reinforcement learning models have demonstrated that phasic activity of dopamine neurons during reward expectation encodes information about the predictability of reward and cues that predict reward. Self-control strategies such as those practiced in mindfulness-based approaches is claimed to reduce negative and positive reactions to stimuli suggesting the hypothesis that such training may influence basic reward processing. Using a passive conditioning task and fMRI in a group of experienced mindfulness meditators and age-matched controls, we tested the hypothesis that mindfulness meditation influence reward and reward prediction error (PE) signals. We found diminished positive and negative PE-related blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses in the putamen in meditators compared with controls. In the meditator group this decrease in striatal BOLD responses to reward PE was paralleled by increased activity in posterior insula, a primary interoceptive region. Critically, responses in the putamen during early trials of the conditioning procedure (run 1) were elevated in both meditators and controls. Overall, these results provide evidence that experienced mindfulness meditators are able to attenuate reward prediction signals to valenced stimuli, which may be related to interoceptive processes encoded in the posterior insula.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 24
- Interoception, contemplative practice, and health Frontiers in Psychology June 9, 2015
- Restructuring Reward Mechanisms in Nicotine Addiction: A Pilot fMRI Study of Mindfulness‐Oriented Recovery Enhancement for Cigarette Smokers Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2017
- Rajyoga meditation induces grey matter volume changes in regions that process reward and happiness Scientific Reports September 30, 2020
- The Two Arrows of Pain: Mechanisms of Pain Related to Meditation and Mental States of Aversion and Identification Mindfulness January 28, 2022
- Wisdom-Based Buddhist-Derived Meditation Practices for Prosocial Behaviour: A Systematic Review Mindfulness March 1, 2024
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Cites 13
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Attending to the present: mindfulness meditation reveals distinct neural modes of self-reference Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience August 13, 2007
- Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering Psychological Science March 28, 2013
- An Interoceptive Predictive Coding Model of Conscious Presence Frontiers in Psychology 2012
and 8 more in the library