Past research has shown that mindfulness-based interventions increase positive affect in non-clinical populations. However, the mechanisms underlying this increase are poorly understood. On the basis of previous empirical and theoretical accounts, we hypothesized that a decreased use of disengagement coping strategies in daily life would explain the benefits of a mindfulness-based intervention...
Suicidal ideation (SI) is common in chronic depression, but only limited evidence exists for the assumption that psychological treatments for depression are effective for reducing SI. In the present study, the effects of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT; group version) plus treatment-as-usual (TAU: individual treatment by either a psychiatrist or a licensed psychotherapist, including...
To test changes to cognitive functioning among high-suicide risk outpatients participating in an adjunct mindfulness-based intervention combining mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and safety planning (MBCT-S). Ten outpatients with a 6-month history of suicide attempt or active suicidal ideation plus suicidal ideation at study entry received 9 weeks of adjunct group-based MBCT-S. Executive...
Compassion is critical for societal wellbeing. Yet, it remains unclear how specific thoughts and feelings motivate compassionate behavior, and we lack a scientific understanding of how to effectively cultivate compassion. Here, we conducted 2 studies designed to a) develop a psychological model predicting compassionate behavior, and b) test this model as a mediator of a Compassion Meditation...
In this issue of EBioMedicine, Shao et al. (2016-in this issue) make a significant and interesting contribution to a growing literature of changes seen in participants who receive formal programmatic instruction in mindfulness meditation. Since Kabat-Zinn's (1982) paper reporting on what would become the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program, the literature and application of...
BackgroundAttention-Deficit-Hyperactivity-Disorder (ADHD) is, with a prevalence of 5 %, a highly common childhood disorder, and has severe impact on the lives of youngsters and their families. Medication is often the treatment of choice, as it currently is most effective. However, medication has only short-term effects, treatment adherence is often low and most importantly; medication has...
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness training in enhancing executive function and decreasing symptoms of depression and anxiety in multiple sclerosis patients. The population in this study consisted of people with MS who referred to Karaj city MS society in 1394. These people didn’t experience medicinal changes during the study period and their...
JMIR Mental HealthJuly 22, 2016Pia Kvillemo, Yvonne Brandberg, Richard Bränström
Interventions based on meditation and mindfulness techniques have been shown to reduce stress and increase psychological well-being in a wide variety of populations. Self-administrated Internet-based mindfulness training programs have the potential to be a convenient, cost-effective, easily disseminated, and accessible alternative to group-based programs. This randomized controlled pilot trial...
Depressive symptoms are commonly reported by individuals suffering from a chronic medical condition. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has been shown to be an effective psychological intervention for reducing depressive symptoms in a range of populations. MBCT is traditionally given in a group format. The aim of the current pilot RCT was to examine the effects of group-based MBCT and...
INTRODUCTION: Ayahuasca is a South American psychotropic plant tea traditionally used in Amazonian shamanism. The tea contains the psychedelic 5-HT2A receptor agonist N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), plus β-carboline alkaloids with monoamine oxidase-inhibiting properties. Increasing evidence from anecdotal reports and open-label studies indicates that ayahuasca may have therapeutic effects in...
Unlabelled: The objective of the current study was to systematically review the evidence of the effect of secular mindfulness techniques on function and structure of the brain. Based on areas known from traditional meditation neuroimaging results, we aimed to explore a neuronal explanation of the stress-reducing effects of the 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness...
Admission at university can be considered as a critical phase in life of young students, leading them to enter a greater society and experience a different educational, social, and cultural setting.Generally, these drastic changes in their personal and social lives would be accompanied by intense anxiety and stress, negatively influencing their performance and efficiency; as a result, their...
Objective: This study aimed to develop and test a novel mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) designed to control weight after bariatric surgery. Design: Randomized, controlled pilot trial. Setting: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA. Interventions: Bariatric patients 1-5 years post-surgery (n=18) were randomized to receive a 10-week MBI or a standard intervention. Main...
July 8, 2016Miho Iwakuma, T. Nakayama, Daien Oshita et al.
Meditation has been practiced beginning of ancient times, and recently has gained more attention as something that can be utilized by anyone, regardless of their location, age, or gender for health benefits. The present study was aimed to produce some basic data on the effects of short-term meditation, as assessed by measuring brain waves during meditation, on 15 healthy Japanese students....
In contrast to the increased research interest in the benefits of mindfulness and self-compassion, relatively few studies have examined their unique and combined effects in predicting affect. This cross-sectional study examined the predictive value of mindfulness and self-compassion for depressive symptoms, negative affect, and positive affect in a large representative sample of community...
Research on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and chronic childhood abuse has revealed that traditional trauma treatments often fail to fully address the complicated symptom presentation, including the somatic complaints, loss of awareness of one's emotional and physical being in the present moment, and overall lack of integration between the self and the body. The mindfulness-based intervention of...
Scientific understanding of how much the adult brain can be shaped by experience requires examination of how multiple influences combine to elicit cognitive, affective, and neural plasticity. Using an intensive multifaceted intervention, we discovered that substantial and enduring improvements can occur in parallel across multiple cognitive and neuroimaging measures in healthy young adults. The...
Sleep paralysis (SP) is a common state of involuntary immobility occurring at sleep onset or offset. It can include terrifying hypnogogic or hypnopompic hallucinations of menacing bedroom intruders. Unsurprisingly, the experience is associated with great fear and horror worldwide. To date, there exist no direct treatment intervention for SP. In this article, I propose for the first time a type...
Although kindness-based contemplative practices are increasingly employed by clinicians and cognitive researchers to enhance prosocial emotions, social cognitive skills, and well-being, and as a tool to understand the basic workings of the social mind, we lack a coherent theoretical model with which to test the mechanisms by which kindness-based meditation may alter the brain and body. Here we...
Abstract: Abstract: The cardiac dynamics during meditation is explored quantitatively with two chaos-based non-linear techniques viz. multi-fractal detrended fluctuation analysis and visibility network analysis techniques. The data used are the instantaneous heart rate (in beats/minute) of subjects performing Kundalini Yoga and Chi meditation from PhysioNet. The results show consistent...