Mindfulness meditation-related pain relief: evidence for unique brain mechanisms in the regulation of pain.
Fadel Zeidan, J A Grant, C A Brown, John G. Mchaffie, Robert C. Coghill
Neuroscience Letters April 6, 2012 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2012.03.082 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Brain Humans Attention Pain management Neuroimaging Cognitive behavioral therapy |
| Key findings | Argues that mindfulness meditation reduces pain through mechanisms including enhanced cognitive and emotional control and altered contextual evaluation of sensory events, and that neuroimaging evidence links this relief to appraisal processes that vary by meditation tradition and expertise level. Proposes that mindfulness meditation-related pain relief may share a common final pathway with other cognitive pain-modulation techniques. |
Abstract
The cognitive modulation of pain is influenced by a number of factors ranging from attention, beliefs, conditioning, expectations, mood, and the regulation of emotional responses to noxious sensory events. Recently, mindfulness meditation has been found attenuate pain through some of these mechanisms including enhanced cognitive and emotional control, as well as altering the contextual evaluation of sensory events. This review discusses the brain mechanisms involved in mindfulness meditation-related pain relief across different meditative techniques, expertise and training levels, experimental procedures, and neuroimaging methodologies. Converging lines of neuroimaging evidence reveal that mindfulness meditation-related pain relief is associated with unique appraisal cognitive processes depending on expertise level and meditation tradition. Moreover, it is postulated that mindfulness meditation-related pain relief may share a common final pathway with other cognitive techniques in the modulation of pain.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations | 2003 | Review | |
| Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects | 2007 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Interventions | 2016 | Review | |
| Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation | 2017 | Review | |
| Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 90
- Mindfulness meditation–based pain relief: a mechanistic account Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences June 1, 2016
- Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Reduces Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Ideation in Veterans Medical Care November 13, 2014
- Future directions in meditation research: Recommendations for expanding the field of contemplative science PLoS One November 7, 2018
- Meditation reduces pain-related neural activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, insula, secondary somatosensory cortex, and thalamus Frontiers in Psychology December 16, 2014
- Effects of mindfulness and distraction on pain depend upon individual differences in pain catastrophizing: An experimental study European Journal of Pain March 26, 2014
and 85 more in the library
Cites 32
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2000
- Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders American Journal of Psychiatry July 1, 1992
- Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2007
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2003
and 27 more in the library