Mindfulness training increases cooperative decision making in economic exchanges: Evidence from fMRI.
Ulrich Kirk, Xiaosi Gu, Carla Sharp, Andreas Hula, Peter Fonagy, P Read Montague
Neuroimage June 4, 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.05.075 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized longitudinal fMRI study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Adults |
| Interventions | Mindfulness training active control training |
| Duration | 8 weeks |
| Measures | Ultimatum Game acceptance rates |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Cerebral cortex Nerve net Humans Magnetic resonance imaging Treatment outcome Brain mapping Altruism Emotions Awareness Decision making Games, experimental Adult Female Economics, behavioral FMRI Ultimatum game Social cooperation Interoception |
| Key findings | Mindfulness training increased willingness to cooperate, indexed by higher acceptance rates of unfair monetary offers in the Ultimatum Game. More cooperative MT participants showed increased septal activation and reduced anterior insula activity to unfair offers, with septal-posterior insula coupling suggesting interoceptive integration. |
Abstract
Emotions have been shown to exert influences on decision making during economic exchanges. Here we investigate the underlying neural mechanisms of a training regimen which is hypothesized to promote emotional awareness, specifically mindfulness training (MT). We test the hypothesis that MT increases cooperative economic decision making using fMRI in a randomized longitudinal design involving 8weeks of either MT or active control training (CT). We find that MT results in an increased willingness to cooperate indexed by higher acceptance rates to unfair monetary offers in the Ultimatum Game. While controlling for acceptance rates of monetary offers between intervention groups, subjects in the MT and CT groups show differential brain activation patterns. Specifically, a subset of more cooperative MT subjects displays increased activation in the septal region, an area linked to social attachment, which may drive the increased willingness to express cooperative behavior in the MT cohort. Furthermore, MT resulted in attenuated activity in anterior insula compared with the CT group in response to unfair monetary offers post-training, which may suggest that MT enables greater ability to effectively regulate the anterior insula and thereby promotes social cooperation. Finally, functional connectivity analyses show a coupling between the septal region and posterior insula in the MT group, suggesting an integration of interoceptive inputs. Together, these results highlight that MT may be employed in contexts where emotional regulation is required to promote social cooperation.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 19
- 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
- Mindful attention promotes control of brain network dynamics for self-regulation and discontinues the past from the present Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 3, 2023
- EEG-based investigation of effects of mindfulness meditation training on state and trait by deep learning and traditional machine learning Frontiers in Human Neuroscience August 31, 2023
- App-Based Mindfulness for Attenuation of Subjective and Physiological Stress Reactivity in a Population With Elevated Stress: Randomized Controlled Trial JMIR mHealth and uHealth August 8, 2023
- Do contemplative practices make us more moral? Trends in Cognitive Sciences October 1, 2023
and 14 more in the library
Cites 9
- Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Assessment February 29, 2008
- Attending to the present: mindfulness meditation reveals distinct neural modes of self-reference Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience August 13, 2007
- Investigation of mindfulness meditation practitioners with voxel-based morphometry Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience December 3, 2007
- Interoception Drives Increased Rational Decision-Making in Meditators Playing the Ultimatum Game Frontiers in Neuroscience 2011
- Compassion meditators show less anger, less punishment, and more compensation of victims in response to fairness violations August 11, 2017
and 4 more in the library