Mindfulness

Mindfulness Reduces Addiction by Improving Pleasure Appreciation in Opioid Users

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Mindfulness Reduces Addiction by Improving Pleasure Appreciation in Opioid Users

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“mindfulness-based interventions could help people dependent on opioids increase their self-awareness and self-control over cravings and be less reactive to emotional and physical pain. Individuals with an opioid addiction could also be taught to change their negative thoughts and savor pleasant events, which may help them to regulate their emotions and experience more enjoyment.” – Science News

 

Substance abuse and addiction is a terrible problem, especially opioid pain relievers. Opioid addiction has become epidemic and is rapidly increasing affecting more than 2 million Americans and an estimated 15 million people worldwide. In the U.S more than 20,000 deaths yearly were attributed to an overdose of prescription opioids, and another 13,000 deaths from heroin overdose. These statistics, although startling are only the tip of the iceberg. Drug use is associated with suicide, homicide, motor-vehicle injury, HIV infection, pneumonia, violence, mental illness, and hepatitis. It can render the individual ineffective at work, it tears apart families, it makes the individual dangerous both driving and not.

 

An effective treatment for addiction has been elusive. Most programs and therapies to treat addictions have poor success rates. Recent research is indicating that mindfulness has been found to be effective in treating addictions. Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) was specifically developed to employ mindfulness training along with other proven methods to assist addicts in remaining off of drugs. MORE involves mindful breathing and body scan meditations, cognitive reappraisal to decrease negative emotions and craving, and savoring to augment natural reward processing and positive emotion.

 

One method to observe reward processing in the brain is to measure the changes in the electrical activity that occur in response to specific reward related stimuli. These are called event-related potentials or ERPs. The signal following a stimulus changes over time. The fluctuations of the signal after specific periods of time are thought to measure different aspects of the nervous system’s processing of the stimulus. The Late Positive Potential (LPP) response in the evoked potential (ERP) is a positive going electrical response occurring between a 4 to 8 tenths of a second following the target stimulus presentation. The LPP is thought to reflect attention to the emotional features of a stimulus.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement remediates hedonic dysregulation in opioid users: Neural and affective evidence of target engagement.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6795512/), Garland and colleagues recruited chronic pain patients who were opioid users. They were randomly assigned to receive 8 weeks of either Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) or a therapist led support group. They were measured for brain activity with an electroencephalogram (EEG) before and after treatment and opioid use at 3-month follow-up. In one experiment they measure the EEG response (Late Positive Potential (LPP)) while being presented with opioid cues (pictures of pills and pill bottles) or a neutral picture either normally or while attempting to not react or judge the stimuli. In a separate experiment with a similar procedure except that the participants were presented with natural reward pictures (e.g., social affiliation, natural beauty, and athletic victories) or neutral pictures.

 

They found that before treatment opioid and natural reward stimuli reliably produced significantly larger Late Positive Potentials (LPP) indicating that the LPP reflected emotional responses to rewards. After treatment the group that received Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) had significantly smaller LPP responses to opioid related cues than the support group. When the participants were asked to not react or judge the stimuli the MORE group had significantly greater reductions in the LPP. Importantly, the participants in the MORE group had a significantly larger LPPs to natural reward stimuli and when the participants were asked to not react or judge the natural reward stimuli the MORE group had a significantly larger increases in the LPP.

 

They also investigated the subjective emotional responses of the participants to the opioid and natural reward stimuli and found that after Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) the participants had larger increases in response to natural reward stimuli and smaller responses to opioid related stimuli. At the 3 month follow-up they found that MORE reduced the use of opioids to a greater extent than the support group and that it did so directly and also indirectly by increasing natural reward responses which, in turn, reduced opioid use.

 

These results suggest that responses to the rewarding aspects of stimuli is important in opioid addiction and that Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) reduces opioid use in addicted individuals they demonstrate that MORE reduces emotional responses to opioid cues while amplifying responses to natural rewards. This suggests that mindfulness treatment reduces opioid use by altering the addict’s responses to stimuli related to the addiction and naturally rewarding stimuli; amplifying natural reward while suppressing opioid rewards. This makes opioids less rewarding and natural stimuli more rewarding.

 

So, mindfulness reduces addiction by altering pleasure appreciation in opioid users.

 

“Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), increases the brain’s response to natural, healthy rewards while also decreasing the brain’s response to opioid-related cues.” – University of Utah

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Garland, E. L., Atchley, R. M., Hanley, A. W., Zubieta, J. K., & Froeliger, B. (2019). Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement remediates hedonic dysregulation in opioid users: Neural and affective evidence of target engagement. Science advances, 5(10), eaax1569. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax1569

 

Abstract

Addiction neuroscience models posit that recurrent drug use increases reactivity to drug-related cues and blunts responsiveness to natural rewards, propelling a cycle of hedonic dysregulation that drives addictive behavior. Here, we assessed whether a cognitive intervention for addiction, Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), could restructure reward responsiveness from valuation of drug-related reward back to valuation of natural reward. Before and after 8 weeks of MORE or a support group control, prescription opioid users (N = 135) viewed opioid and natural reward cues while an electroencephalogram biomarker of target engagement was assessed. MORE was associated with decreased opioid cue-reactivity and enhanced capacity to regulate responses to opioid and natural reward cues. Increased positive affective responses to natural reward cues were associated with decreased craving and mediated MORE’s therapeutic effects on opioid misuse. This series of randomized experiments provide the first neurophysiological evidence that an integrative behavioral treatment can remediate hedonic dysregulation among chronic opioid users.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6795512/

 

Change the Brain to Reduce Chronic Pain with Mindfulness

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Change the Brain to Reduce Chronic Pain with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“While many experts recommend mindfulness-based practices to manage pain, the goal of those practices is typically not to remove pain entirely, but to change your relationship with it so that you are able to experience relief and healing in the middle of uncomfortable physical sensations.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

 

We all have to deal with pain. It’s inevitable, but hopefully it’s mild and short lived. For a wide swath of humanity, however, pain is a constant in their lives. At least 100 million adult Americans have chronic pain conditions. The most common treatment for chronic pain is drugs. These include over-the-counter analgesics and opioids. But opioids are dangerous and highly addictive. Prescription opioid overdoses kill more than 14,000 people annually. So, there is a great need to find safe and effective ways to lower the psychological distress and improve the individual’s ability to cope with the pain.

 

There is an accumulating volume of research findings to demonstrate that mindfulness practices, in general, are effective in treating pain. Pain experiences are processed in the nervous system. So, it’s likely that mindfulness practices somehow alter the brain’s processing of pain. In today’s Research News article “The neural mechanisms of mindfulness-based pain relief: a functional magnetic resonance imaging-based review and primer.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6728003/), Zeidan and colleagues review and summarize the published research studies on the changes in the brain that accompany the relief of chronic pain by mindfulness-based treatments.

 

They report that mindfulness appears to reduce pain by increasing attention to the present moment. High levels of mindfulness are associated with lower pain experiences with chronic conditions and that these levels are associated with less activity in the, so called, default mode network in the brain (consisting of the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus, inferior, and lateral temporal cortices). The default mode network is thought to underlie self-referential thinking and mind wandering.

 

The research also reports that short-term meditation reduces chronic pain and increases communications between cortical areas and the thalamus suggesting top down control of pain sensitivity. On the other hand, long-term meditation practice reduces chronic pain by deactivating prefrontal cortical areas and activating somatosensory cortical regions. This suggests that long-term meditation reduces cognitive appraisals of arising sensory events. Finally, the research suggests that the neural mechanisms of mindfulness-based pain relief are different than opioid pain relief suggesting that there are different mechanisms involved.

 

Obviously, much more research is needed. But there is an evolving picture of the changes in the brain that occur with mindfulness practices that produce relief of chronic pain. It is different from that of opioid pain relievers and primarily involves high level, cortical, neural systems associated with attention to stimuli and the thought processes that arise evaluating those stimuli. In other words, mindfulness-based practices affect pain processing at the highest levels of attention and thinking.

 

So, change the brain to reduce chronic pain with mindfulness.

 

“Chronic pain is frustrating and debilitating. The last thing we want to do is pay more attention to our pain. But that’s the premise behind mindfulness, a highly effective practice for chronic pain.” – Margarita Tartakovsky,

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Zeidan, F., Baumgartner, J. N., & Coghill, R. C. (2019). The neural mechanisms of mindfulness-based pain relief: a functional magnetic resonance imaging-based review and primer. Pain reports, 4(4), e759. doi:10.1097/PR9.0000000000000759

 

Abstract

The advent of neuroimaging methodologies, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), has significantly advanced our understanding of the neurophysiological processes supporting a wide spectrum of mind–body approaches to treat pain. A promising self-regulatory practice, mindfulness meditation, reliably alleviates experimentally induced and clinical pain. Yet, the neural mechanisms supporting mindfulness-based pain relief remain poorly characterized. The present review delineates evidence from a spectrum of fMRI studies showing that the neural mechanisms supporting mindfulness-induced pain attenuation differ across varying levels of meditative experience. After brief mindfulness-based mental training (ie, less than 10 hours of practice), mindfulness-based pain relief is associated with higher order (orbitofrontal cortex and rostral anterior cingulate cortex) regulation of low-level nociceptive neural targets (thalamus and primary somatosensory cortex), suggesting an engagement of unique, reappraisal mechanisms. By contrast, mindfulness-based pain relief after extensive training (greater than 1000 hours of practice) is associated with deactivation of prefrontal and greater activation of somatosensory cortical regions, demonstrating an ability to reduce appraisals of arising sensory events. We also describe recent findings showing that higher levels of dispositional mindfulness, in meditation-naïve individuals, are associated with lower pain and greater deactivation of the posterior cingulate cortex, a neural mechanism implicated in self-referential processes. A brief fMRI primer is presented describing appropriate steps and considerations to conduct studies combining mindfulness, pain, and fMRI. We postulate that the identification of the active analgesic neural substrates involved in mindfulness can be used to inform the development and optimization of behavioral therapies to specifically target pain, an important consideration for the ongoing opioid and chronic pain epidemic.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6728003/

 

Mindfulness and Its Relationships to Attention Deficit Traits are Inherited

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Mindfulness and Its Relationships to Attention Deficit Traits are Inherited

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“heritability of trait mindfulness to be about 32% – meaning that while genetics has a substantial effect on one’s level of mindfulness, environmental factors are approximately twice as important in determining one’s level of mindfulness. They also found that some of the same genetic influences associated with depression and anxiety – are also associated with low levels of mindfulness.” – Matthew Brensilver

 

There are large differences between people in both their physical and psychological characteristics, including their levels of mindfulness, activity levels, anxiety, depression, and tendencies for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Some of the differences are the result of environmental influences. But many people still differ considerably even though they have lived in similar environments and had similar experiences. In addition, many of these characteristics seem to be present right at birth. These facts support the notion that both the genes and the environment determine human characteristics.

 

Indeed, there is evidence that our level of mindfulness is in part inherited and transmitted with the genes but is also affected by the environment. It has also been shown that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are to some extent is inherited in addition to environmental origins. This taken together with the fact that mindfulness training is an effective treatment for ADHD raises the question of to what extent are the genes and environment underlying mindfulness also related to the genes and environment underlying ADHD.

 

In today’s Research News article “Genetic and environmental aetiologies of associations between dispositional mindfulness and ADHD traits: a population-based twin study.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6751144/), Siebelink and colleagues analyzed data from the UK Twins Early Development Study on dispositional mindfulness, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) traits of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, and life satisfaction. The genetic and environmental contributions to these variables and their interactions was assessed with twin method computations of the data obtained when the twins were 16 years of age.

 

They found moderate heritability (proportion of the variance accounted for by genetic similarity) for mindfulness (35%) and strong heritability for inattention (61%) and hyperactivity/impulsivity (65%). The environment shared by the twins only accounted 0% of the variance in mindfulness, 18% for inattention, and 22% for hyperactivity/impulsivity. The remainder of the variance was accounted for by unique (non-shared) environmental factors.

There were weak negative correlations between mindfulness and the ADHD traits of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity with the higher the levels of mindfulness the lower the levels of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. These correlations were found to have small degrees of heritability; 14% for inattention and 4% for hyperactivity/impulsivity.

 

These results suggest that the inheritance plays a significant role in determining the mindfulness and the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) traits of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity and the familial (shared) environment a lesser role. In other words, genes and not how the twins were brought up primarily affected their mindfulness and ADHD traits. Interestingly, the small relationships between mindfulness and the ADHD traits were also to a small degree due to inheritance. So, not only the traits but also their relationship was affected by inheritance.

 

The genes appear to have ubiquitous influences on the individual’s nature including how mindful the individual is and whether the individual has tendencies toward Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and even the degree to which mindfulness is associated with lower levels of ADHD traits. This suggests that mindfulness training may have different degrees of benefit for ADHD symptoms depending upon the inheritance of the individual.

 

So, mindfulness and its relationships to attention deficit traits are inherited.

 

“genetic correlations between the lack of dispositional mindfulness and ADHD trait measures were modest and environmental correlations non-significant.” – Nienke Siebelink

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Siebelink, N. M., Asherson, P., Antonova, E., Bögels, S. M., Speckens, A. E., Buitelaar, J. K., & Greven, C. U. (2019). Genetic and environmental aetiologies of associations between dispositional mindfulness and ADHD traits: a population-based twin study. European child & adolescent psychiatry, 28(9), 1241–1251. doi:10.1007/s00787-019-01279-8

 

Abstract

To get additional insight into the phenotype of attentional problems, we examined to what extent genetic and environmental factors explain covariation between lack of dispositional mindfulness and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits in youth, and explored the incremental validity of these constructs in predicting life satisfaction. We used data from a UK population-representative sample of adolescent twins (N = 1092 pairs) on lack of dispositional mindfulness [Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)], ADHD traits [Conners’ Parent Rating Scale-Revised (CPRS-R): inattentive (INATT) and hyperactivity/impulsivity (HYP/IMP) symptom dimensions] and life satisfaction (Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale). Twin model fitting analyses were conducted. Phenotypic correlations (rp) between MAAS and CPRS-R (INATT: rp = 0.18, HYP/IMP: rp = 0.13) were small, but significant and largely explained by shared genes for INATT (% rp INATT–MAAS due to genes: 93%, genetic correlation rA = 0.37) and HYP/IMP (% rp HYP/IMP–MAAS due to genes: 81%; genetic correlation rA = 0.21) with no significant contribution of environmental factors. MAAS, INATT and HYP/IMP significantly and independently predicted life satisfaction. Lack of dispositional mindfulness, assessed as self-reported perceived lapses of attention (MAAS), taps into an aspect of attentional functioning that is phenotypically and genetically distinct from parent-rated ADHD traits. The clinically relevant incremental validity of both scales implicates that MAAS could be used to explore the underlying mechanisms of an aspect of attentional functioning that uniquely affects life satisfaction and is not captured by DSM-based ADHD scales. Further future research could identify if lack of dispositional mindfulness and high ADHD traits can be targeted by different therapeutic approaches resulting in different effects on life satisfaction.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6751144/

 

Secret of Happiness

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Nunchi

 

I read a wonderful article in the New York Times by Euny Hong entitled “The Korean Secret to Happiness and Success” (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/02/opinion/sunday/nunchi.html). It emphasizes the impact of the Korean word “nunchi” on their world view and their way of life. “Nunchi” is literally translated as “eye measure.” It suggests that every situation should be seen as a whole and the individual’s actions should be appropriate for the entire human context.

 

The fact is that most human behavior is affected mainly by a few aspects of the situation that the individual deems particularly salient and important. These might be people who are particularly important, or special friends or family, or enemies. Although this to some extent makes sense, it results in relegating everything and everyone else to the background. The totality of the situation is lost.

 

To students of mindfulness, it should be apparent that “nunchi” is the same as present moment awareness. It is being totally conscious of what is going on in the immediate environment. It is also non-judgmental, perceiving everything just as it is. But it is more in that the interrelationships of all things, what the Buddha called “interdependent co-arising” has to be seen, “eye measured.” It involves seeing the total picture as a gestalt, with not only the immediate components but also how they all interrelate.

 

There’s a Korean saying that “half of social life is nunchi.” This implies that seeing the entire social context in total in the present moment is extremely important to successfully navigating the social situation. When apprising a room full of people, the practice of “nunchi” would dictate taking in the whole scene and feeling the mood of the entire room, be it celebratory, somber, gleeful, sad, angry, etc.. Each individual in the room is then seen within the context. If there’s an angry sense to the room, the behavior of each person is seen against that backdrop. If one individual is neutral, they will actually be viewed as positive, as neutral is in the positive direction from angry. This better allows the individual to react and interact with the person with greater understanding and a more accurate interpretation of the behavior, which, in turn, allows for more calibrated and effective responses. Others tend to like better and interact more with people who practice “nunchi.”

 

In the process of “eye measuring” there is little opportunity for talking. So, “nunchi” usually involves more listening and less talking. It’s been said that we learn nothing new when we’re speaking. So, by practicing “nunchi” and listening more we have the opportunity to learn and be better positioned for future interactions. People respond very positively when they feel that they are being heard. Listening is a rare yet extremely valuable skill that is promoted by the practice of “nunchi.”

 

“Nunchi” allows for better identification of what can be controlled and what can’t. Seeing things and people as they are and as a whole should make it clear what kinds of impacts our behavior can have and what are the likely consequences of those behaviors. In other words, being completely in the present moment strengthens the ability to intervene for the good.

 

The Korean’s clearly understand the importance of present moment awareness and by making it an important word in the language, “nunchi”, make it front and center in their minds. They have long recognized it importance for effective interactions. The mindfulness revolution in the western world is simply helping us catch up.

 

So, practice “nunchi”, being mindful and aware, and be happier.

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Improve Adolescent Psychological Health with Mindfulness

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Improve Adolescent Psychological Health with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“It may be that mindfulness leads to an increase in self-compassion and a decrease in experiential avoidance. It may be selective attention — if you focus on your breath, you have less bandwidth to ruminate. There are a lot of factors that are operative and we’re just beginning to tease out and deconstruct them. It’s like tasting a soup with 10 spices. Is there one main ingredient or is the flavor a combination of things?” – Stuart Eisendrath

 

Adolescence is a time of mental, physical, social, and emotional growth. It is during this time that higher levels of thinking, sometimes called executive function, develops. But adolescence can be a difficult time, fraught with challenges. During this time the child transitions to young adulthood; including the development of intellectual, psychological, physical, and social abilities and characteristics. There are so many changes occurring during this time that the child can feel overwhelmed and unable to cope with all that is required.

 

Indeed, up to a quarter of adolescents suffer from depression or anxiety disorders, and an even larger proportion struggle with subclinical symptoms. Mindfulness training in adults has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression levels and improve emotional regulation. In addition, in adolescents it has been shown to improve emotion regulation and to benefit the psychological and emotional health.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects Of Modified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) On The Psychological Health Of Adolescents With Subthreshold Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6758632/), Zhang and colleagues recruited university students (aged 18-22 years) who scored high in depression but were not at clinically diagnosable levels. They were randomly assigned to receive either an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program or to a no-treatment control condition. They were measured before and after training for depression, mindfulness, and rumination.

 

The MBSR program consists of 8 weekly 1-hour group sessions involving meditation, yoga, body scan, and discussion. The participants are also encouraged to perform daily practice. The program was modified to be better targeted at adolescents. It instructed the adolescents on the application of mindfulness practices to everyday life, including experiencing the pleasant/sad moments in life, walking, sleeping, eating, breathing and exercising to keep the attitude of “mindfulness”.

 

They found that in comparison to baseline and the no-treatment control condition the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program produced large and significant decreases in depression and rumination and increases in mindfulness. Hence, the study demonstrated that a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) modified for adolescents is a safe and effective treatment to improve the psychological health of adolescents who had subclinical levels of depression.

 

It should be mentioned that the control condition did not include any activities and thus leaves open the possibilities of confounding by experimenter or participant bias or placebo effects. Also, the lack of a standard MBSR program for comparison to the modified program does not allow for a conclusion that the modifications produced an improved program. Nevertheless the results are encouraging that the modified MBSR program may be useful in relieving the suffering of the large numbers of adolescents with sub-clinical depression.

 

So, improve adolescent psychological health with mindfulness.

 

“It is well-documented that mindfulness helps to relieve depression and anxiety in adults.1-4 A small but growing body of research shows that it may also improve adolescent resilience to stress through improved cognitive performance and emotional regulation.” – Malka Main

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Zhang, J. Y., Ji, X. Z., Meng, L. N., & Cai, Y. J. (2019). Effects Of Modified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) On The Psychological Health Of Adolescents With Subthreshold Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 15, 2695–2704. doi:10.2147/NDT.S216401

 

Abstract

Background

Sub-threshold depression (SD) has been associated with impairments in adolescent health which increase the rate of major depression. Researchers have shown the effectiveness of mindfulness on mental health, however whether the traditional mindful skills were suitable for youngsters, it was not clear. This study investigated the effects of a tailed Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on their psychological state.

Methods

A double-blind, randomized controlled trial was carried out. 56 participants who met the inclusion criteria agreed to be arranged randomly to either the MBSR group (n=28) or the control group (n=28). Participants in MBSR group received a tailored 8-week, one time per week, one hour each time group intervention. The effectiveness of intervention was measured using validated scales, which including BDI-II, MAAS, RRS at three times (T1-before intervention; T2-after intervention; T3-three months after intervention). A repeated-measures analysis of variance model was used to analyze the data.

Results

The results showed significant improvements in MBSR group comparing with control group that depression level decreased after the 8-week intervention and the follow up (F =17.721, p < 0.00). At the same time, RRS score was significantly decreased at T2 and T3(F= 28.277, p < 0.00). The results also showed that MBSR promoted the level of mindfulness and the effect persisted for three months after intervention (F=13.489, p < 0.00).

Conclusion

A tailored MBSR intervention has positive effects on psychology health among SD youngsters, including decrease depression and rumination level, cultivate mindfulness.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6758632/

 

Mindfulness and Sense of Control are Independently Associated with Emotions

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Mindfulness and Sense of Control are Independently Associated with Emotions

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“the truth is that meditation does not eradicate mental and emotional turmoil. Rather, it cultivates the space and gentleness that allow us intimacy with our experiences so that we can relate quite differently to our cascade of emotions and thoughts. That different relationship is where freedom lies.” – Sharon Salzburg

 

Mindfulness practice has been shown to improve emotions and their regulation. Practitioners demonstrate more positive and less negative emotions and the ability to fully sense and experience emotions, while responding to them in appropriate and adaptive ways. In other words, mindful people are better able to experience yet control their responses to emotions. The ability of mindfulness training to improve emotion regulation is thought to be the basis for a wide variety of benefits that mindfulness provides to mental health and the treatment of mental illness especially depression and anxiety disorders.

 

This may indicate that mindfulness training improves the sense of control over our inner life.

In today’s Research News article “The Associations Between Dispositional Mindfulness, Sense of Control, and Affect in a National Sample of Adults.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6093486/), Imel and colleagues examine the relationship of sense of control with mindfulness’ ability to improve emotions. They recruited a large sample of adults (from 28 to 84 years of age) and had them complete measures of mindfulness, sense of control, positive and negative emotions, religiousness and spirituality, neuroticism, openness to experience, and extraversion.

 

Employing a moderation analysis, they demonstrated that the sense of control was strongly positively associated with positive emotions and negatively associated with negative emotions. In addition, mindfulness was also associated with positive and negative emotions. But mindfulness was not associated with sense of control. These results are interesting and suggest that mindfulness did not affect emotions by altering the individuals’ sense that they were in control of themselves. Rather, it would appear that mindfulness and sense of control are independently associated with emotions.

 

Thus, mindfulness and sense of control are independently associated with emotions.

 

“The key to overcoming these difficult emotions is mindfulness! Practicing mindfulness enables you to calm down and soothe yourself. In this state, you have space to reflect and thoughtfully respond, rather than react.” – Toni Parker

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available at the Contemplative Studies Blog http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/

They are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Imel, J. L., & Dautovich, N. D. (2018). The Associations Between Dispositional Mindfulness, Sense of Control, and Affect in a National Sample of Adults. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 73(6), 996–1005. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbw092

 

Abstract

Objectives

The present study examined factors associated with better affective experiences across the life span, extending existing research to older adults. Specifically, we investigated dispositional mindfulness and sense of control as predictors of affect and sense of control as a potential mediator of the mindfulness—affect associations.

Method

We hypothesized that dispositional mindfulness mediated by sense of control would predict affective outcomes. An archival analysis of a sample of 4,962 adults, aged 28 to 84 years, was conducted using the Midlife in the U.S. national survey (MIDUS-II). Exploratory analyses were conducted with age as a moderator in all associations.

Results

Greater dispositional mindfulness predicted more positive and negative affect irrespective of age. Dispositional mindfulness did not predict sense of control. Greater sense of control predicted more positive and less negative affect, and these associations were significantly moderated by age. Sense of control did not mediate the dispositional mindfulness—affect associations.

Discussion

The present study extends existing research on the dispositional mindfulness—positive affect association to older ages. The sense of control and positive and negative affect associations are enhanced and buffered, respectively, at older ages, indicating that the association between control and affect differs by age.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6093486/

 

Mindfulness Training is Effective with Widely Diverse Populations

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Mindfulness Training is Effective with Widely Diverse Populations

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“In the last two decades, references to mindfulness-based treatments have proliferated. Its benefits are touted for many medical conditions and seem to be universally accepted as a technique to improve mental health across diverse populations.” – Sara Davin

 

Disadvantaged populations have a disproportionate share of mental health issues. Indeed, the lower the socioeconomic status of an individual the greater the likelihood of a mental disorder. It is estimated that major mental illnesses are almost 3 times more likely in the disadvantaged, including almost double the incidence of depression, triple the incidence of anxiety disorders, alcohol abuse, and eating disorders. These higher incidences of mental health issues occur, in part, due to mental health problems leading to unemployment and poverty, but also to the stresses of life in poverty.

 

Most psychotherapies were developed to treat disorders in affluent western populations and are not affordable or sensitive to the unique situations and education levels of the diverse populations. Hence, there is a great need for alternative treatments for diverse populations. One increasingly popular alternative is mindfulness practices. These include meditation, tai chi, qigong, yoga, guided imagery, prayer, etc. The research on the effectiveness of mindfulness practices with diverse populations is accumulating, so it makes sense to stop and summarize what has been learned.

 

In today’s Research News article “Addressing Diversity In Mindfulness Research On Health: A Narrative Review Using The Addressing Framework.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6746558/),Chin and colleagues review and summarize the published research studies on the effectiveness of mindfulness practice for various populations.

 

They report that the published studies found that mindfulness practice was beneficial regardless of age, being effective in children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly, regardless of ethnicity, including black, Hispanic, native American, and Asian populations, and regardless of sexual orientation, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender participants. Mindfulness training was also found to improve the well-being of patients with acquired disabilities including Alzheimer’s disease, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, traumatic brain injury, and multiple sclerosis. Mindfulness appears to be effective regardless of socioeconomic status, being beneficial in both affluent and poor participants and regardless of nationality, being beneficial for European Americans, Taiwanese, South Africans, British and Swedes. Finally, there’s only a small number of studies that compare the effectiveness of mindfulness practice for males versus females. In general, mindfulness practice appears to be beneficial for both genders, but possibly more beneficial for women than men.

 

These findings are quite striking and suggest that mindfulness training is beneficial for a wide variety of people with a wide variety of conditions. It is no wonder that mindfulness practice appears to be spreading rapidly, with meditation practice increasing from 4% to 14% of the US population over the last 5 years.

 

Hus, mindfulness training is effective with widely diverse populations.

 

“The application of mindfulness to diversity and inclusion is about opening and appreciating rather than rejecting difference.” – Joshua Ehrlich

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Chin, G., Anyanso, V., & Greeson, J. (2019). Addressing Diversity In Mindfulness Research On Health: A Narrative Review Using The Addressing Framework. Cooper Rowan medical journal, 1(1), 2.

 

INTRODUCTION

Over the past 5 years, the number of Americans practicing meditation has more than tripled, rising from 4% of adults in 2010 to 14% in 2017.1 This rise is likely related to the increasing focus on preventive and integrative approaches to healthcare in the United States, such as meditation, which is often used to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and pain in conjunction with improving health and well-being.2 While many different meditative practices exist, mindfulness meditation emphasizes nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment. Although substantial research supports mindfulness-related improvements in patient-reported mental and physical health,3 the replication crisis in social science and medicine, alongside numerous methodological concerns about extant mindfulness studies,4 invites questions regarding the generalizability of research on the reported health-promoting effects of mindfulness meditation and mindfulness as an innate, dispositional quality (trait mindfulness). Moreover, as much of mindfulness research over-samples middle-to-upper class, Caucasian, women,5 the extent to which results generalize to a broader, more diverse population is unclear. One possible reason for this overrepresentation could be that this population has the time and/or finances to participate in mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) from which researchers draw samples.

In 2001, Dr. Pamela Hays published Addressing Cultural Complexities in Practice,6 introducing the ADDRESSING framework as a guide to help clinicians better identify and understand the relevant cultural identities of their clients. According to Dr. Hays, the facets of identity include: Age, Developmental and acquired Disabilities, Religion, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic status, Sexual orientation, Indigenous heritage, National origin, and Gender. This framework allows room for intersectionality between identity facets and does not inherently exclude non-minority individuals. As such, the ADDRESSING framework, with its attention to multiple aspects of identity, provides an effective structure for organizing research published on different populations and identifying 1) which populations are represented and underrepresented in various categories and 2) what is known about underrepresented groups in research. The main purpose of this review, therefore, was to use the ADDRESSING framework to highlight mindfulness research conducted on historically underrepresented groups as both a method to summarize what has been done and to point out gaps for future research.

Overall, mindfulness can reduce stress and improve mental health in diverse populations. Given the unique stressors and mental health disparities individuals in diverse groups experience, mindfulness-related changes in mental health likely support improvements in health-related behavior, QoL and well-being.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6746558/

 

Improve Mindfulness Training with Natural Settings

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Improve Mindfulness Training with Natural Settings

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Our deepest origins lie in the natural world and time in the great outdoors can be calming, invigorating, beautiful… and lots of fun! Mindfulness is paying attention without judgement to the present moment and it’s the perfect way to enhance our connection with nature.”- Claire Thompson

 

Modern living is stressful, perhaps, in part because it has divorced us from the natural world that our species was immersed in throughout its evolutionary history. Modern environments may be damaging to our health and well-being simply because the species did not evolve to cope with them. This suggests that returning to nature, at least occasionally, may be beneficial. Indeed, researchers are beginning to study nature walks or what the Japanese call “Forest Bathing” and their effects on our mental and physical health.

 

Mindfulness practices have been found routinely to reduce the psychological and physiological responses to stress and improve mood. People have long reported that walking in nature elevates their mood. It appears intuitively obvious that if mindfulness training occurred in a beautiful natural place, it would greatly improve the effectiveness of mindfulness practice. Pictures in the media of meditation almost always show a practitioner meditating in a beautiful natural setting. But there is little systematic research regarding the effects of mindfulness training in nature. It’s possible that the combination might magnify the individual benefits of each.

 

In today’s Research News article “A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Nature-Based Mindfulness: Effects of Moving Mindfulness Training into an Outdoor Natural Setting.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6747393/), Diernis and colleagues review and summarize the published research studies of the effects of combining mindfulness training with natural environments. They found 26 published studies.

 

They report that the published research studies found that mindfulness practice in nature produced greater improvements in psychological, social, and physical well-being with moderate to small effect sizes. These effects were present regardless of whether the study employed a no-treatment or active control condition. In addition, natural environments that were wild and/or forested tended to produce greater effects than natural environments that were garden or park environments.

 

The meta-analysis suggests that mindfulness training in the natural environment, especially in wild environments, produces greater benefits than similar training in non-natural settings. It is not clear why this would be true. Perhaps, removing the individual from the environments that their accustomed to, potentiates mindfulness training. Or perhaps, returning the individual to the type of environments that reflect their evolutionary history, reduces stress and produces greater relaxation and improved attention. Regardless, it’s clear that practicing mindfulness in nature is very beneficial.

 

So, improve mindfulness training with natural settings.

 

“During my first mindfulness-in-nature retreat, when my hand touched the sun-warmed ground, I felt a connection to the Earth I didn’t know was possible. It was as if the energy of the Earth connected with my own. There was no separation. It was grounding, warm, and it felt like home.” – Sara Overton

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Djernis, D., Lerstrup, I., Poulsen, D., Stigsdotter, U., Dahlgaard, J., & O’Toole, M. (2019). A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Nature-Based Mindfulness: Effects of Moving Mindfulness Training into an Outdoor Natural Setting. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(17), 3202. doi:10.3390/ijerph16173202

 

Abstract

Research has proven that both mindfulness training and exposure to nature have positive health effects. The purpose of this study was to systematically review quantitative studies of mindfulness interventions conducted in nature (nature-based mindfulness), and to analyze the effects through meta-analyses. Electronic searches revealed a total of 25 studies to be included, examining 2990 participants. Three analyses were conducted: Nature-based mindfulness interventions evaluated as open trials (k = 13), nature-based mindfulness compared with groups in non-active control conditions (k = 5), and nature-based mindfulness compared with similar interventions but without contact with nature (k = 7). The overall combined psychological, physiological, and interpersonal effects from pre- to post-intervention were statistically significant and of medium size (g = 0.54, p < 0.001). Moderation analyses showed that natural environments characterized as forests/wild nature obtained larger numerical effects than environments characterized as gardens/parks, as did informal mindfulness compared with formal mindfulness. The small number of studies included, as well as the heterogeneity and generally low quality of the studies, must be taken into consideration when the results are interpreted

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6747393/

 

Improve Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with Mindfulness

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Improve Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Mindfulness meditation for people with ADHD? It may seem like a stretch, since difficulty with mindfulness is the very challenge for those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. And yet recent research shows that mindfulness training can be adapted for this condition and that it can improve concentration.” – Lynda McCollough

 

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is most commonly found in children, but for about half it persists into adulthood. It’s estimated that about 5% of the adult population has ADHD. Hence, this is a very large problem that can produce inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity, and emotional issues, and reduce quality of life. The most common treatment is drugs, like methylphenidate, Ritalin, which helps reducing symptoms in about 30% of the people with ADHD. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the drugs appears to be markedly reduced after the first year. In addition, the drugs often have troublesome side effects, can be addictive, and can readily be abused. So, drugs, at present, do not appear to be a good solution, only affecting some, only for a short time, and with unwanted side effects.

 

There are indications that mindfulness training may be an effective treatment for ADHD. It makes sense that it should be, as the skills and abilities strengthened by mindfulness training are identical to those that are defective in ADHD,  attention, impulse control, executive function, emotion control, and mood improvement. In addition, unlike drugs, it is a relatively safe intervention that has minimal troublesome side effects. Since mindfulness is so promising as a treatment, it is important to step back and summarize what has been learned in the scientific research of the effectiveness of mindfulness training for ADHD.

 

In today’s Research News article “A meta-analytic investigation of the impact of mindfulness-based interventions on ADHD symptoms.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6571280/), Xue and colleagues review, summarize, and perform a meta-analysis of the published research studies of the effectiveness of mindfulness training for the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). They included 11 controlled published research studies.

 

They report that the published research found that mindfulness training produced significant improvements in mindfulness and in the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms of  inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity with large effect sizes. The effect sizes were smaller, albeit still significant, when mindfulness training was compared to wait-list control groups as opposed to active control conditions.

 

These results are exciting and important as they suggest that mindfulness training is safe and effective for treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms in both children and adults. It has been well established that mindfulness training improves attention and relaxation and reduces impulsivity in a variety of non-ADHD populations. This meta-analysis suggests that these same improvements occur in patients with ADHD. Training in paying attention non-judgmentally to the present moment appears to calm and improve the ability of ADHD patients to focus just as it does with people without ADHD.

 

So, improve Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with mindfulness

 

“They discovered 78% of the study participants who practiced ADHD mindfulness reported reductions in ADHD symptoms, and 30% of the participants reported “clinically” reduced symptoms, which means they had a 30% or more reduction. They also found participants who did the mindfulness training did significantly better for “measures of attentional conflict” (when two or more things compete for your attention). And, as a bonus, participants also made improvements on measures of depression and anxiety.” – Casey Dixon

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Xue, J., Zhang, Y., & Huang, Y. (2019). A meta-analytic investigation of the impact of mindfulness-based interventions on ADHD symptoms. Medicine, 98(23), e15957. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000015957

 

Abstract

Background:

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been reported to be efficacious in treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the value of the control effect of MBIs on ADHD core symptoms remains controversial. To clarify the literature on the control effect of MBIs on the symptoms of ADHD and guide future researches, an effect-size analysis was conducted.

Methods:

A systematic search in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Medline, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wangfang Data databases was performed up to January 11, 2019. The overall effect size of MBIs on ADHD core symptoms (ie, inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity) was recorded by the metric of Hedges’ g with 95% confidence interval, Z-value, and P-value.

Results:

Eleven eligible studies featuring 682 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The overall results indicated that MBIs had large effects on inattention (Hedges’ g = −0.825) and hyperactivity/impulsivity (Hedges’ g = −0.676) relative to the control group. Results from subgroup analyses between self- and observer rating on ADHD symptoms revealed that the effect of MBIs both remained in a large range and self-rated ADHD core symptom had a greater impact on heterogeneity across the studies. Meta-regression found that the overall effect might be moderated by participant age group and control condition.

Conclusion:

The present meta-analysis suggested that MBIs had large effects in reducing ADHD core symptoms in comparison with the control group. Future researches are needed to assess follow-up effects of MBIs on ADHD core symptoms and explore the correlation between the individual level of mindfulness and reduction of ADHD symptoms.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6571280/

 

Improve Episodic Memory and Alter Brain Activity during Memory Retrieval with Mindfulness

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Improve Episodic Memory and Alter Brain Activity during Memory Retrieval with Mindfulness

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“A critical part of attention (and working memory capacity) is being able to ignore distraction. There has been growing evidence that meditation training (in particular mindfulness meditation) helps develop attentional control, and that this can start to happen very quickly.” – About Memory

 

There has accumulated a large amount of research demonstrating that mindfulness has significant benefits for psychological, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. One way that mindfulness practices may produce these benefits is by altering the brain. The nervous system is a dynamic entity, constantly changing and adapting to the environment. It will change size, activity, and connectivity in response to experience. These changes in the brain are called neuroplasticity. Over the last decade neuroscience has been studying the effects of contemplative practices on the brain and has identified neuroplastic changes in widespread areas. In other words, mindfulness practice appears to mold and change the brain, producing psychological, physical, and spiritual benefits.

 

One way to observe the effects of meditation techniques is to measure the effects of each technique on the brain’s activity. This can be done by recording the electroencephalogram (EEG). The brain produces rhythmic electrical activity that can be recorded from the scalp. It is usually separated into frequency bands. Delta activity consists of oscillations in the 0.5-3 cycles per second band. Theta activity in the EEG consists of oscillations in the 4-8 cycles per second band. Alpha activity consists of oscillations in the 8-12 cycles per second band. Beta activity consists of oscillations in the 13-30 cycles per second band while Gamma activity occurs in the 30-100 cycles per second band.

 

In today’s Research News article “Increases in Theta Oscillatory Activity During Episodic Memory Retrieval Following Mindfulness Meditation Training.” (See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6738165/), Nyhus and colleagues recruited adult participants and randomly assigned them to a wait-list control condition or to receive 4-weeks of once a week for 1 hour of mindfulness meditation training along with 20 minutes of daily home practice. They were measured for episodic memory and mindfulness before and after training. They learned words either by imagining a place associated with them or rating their pleasantness. The electroencephalogram (EEG) was measured from the scalp as the participants were engaged in an episodic memory task.

 

They found that meditation training produced a significant increase in mindfulness, especially the observe, describe, and act with awareness facets. The meditation group were also significantly better at identifying the source (place or pleasantness) of the word in the episodic memory task. With the EEG they found that the meditation group after training had significant increases in power in the Theta frequency band (4-7.5 hz.) in the frontal and parietal cortical areas of the brain. The increase in theta power were correlated with the level of the describe facet of mindfulness.

 

Theta power has been previously found to increase during tasks that test episodic memory. That was true here also. But in the present study the increases in theta power were greater after mindfulness meditation training. This suggests that the training altered the nervous system making it more responsive to episodic memories. The fact that mindfulness has been found to improve memory and that source memory was improved in the present study would appear to support this assertion. Hence, it would appear that mindfulness meditation improves episodic memory by enhancing brain processing of memories.

 

So, improve episodic memory and alter brain activity during memory retrieval with mindfulness.

 

“The meditation-and-the-brain research has been rolling in steadily for a number of years now, . . . . The practice appears to have an amazing variety of neurological benefits – from changes in grey matter volume to reduced activity in the “me” centers of the brain to enhanced connectivity between brain regions.” – Alice Walton

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts and on Twitter @MindfulResearch

 

Study Summary

 

Nyhus, E., Engel, W. A., Pitfield, T. D., & Vakkur, I. (2019). Increases in Theta Oscillatory Activity During Episodic Memory Retrieval Following Mindfulness Meditation Training. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 13, 311. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00311

 

Abstract

Mindfulness meditation has been shown to improve episodic memory and increase theta oscillations which are known to play a role in episodic memory retrieval. The present study examined the effect of mindfulness meditation on episodic memory retrieval and theta oscillations. Using a longitudinal design, subjects in the mindfulness meditation experimental group who underwent 4 weeks of mindfulness meditation training and practice were compared to a waitlist control group. During the pre-training and post-training experimental sessions, subjects completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and studied adjectives and either imagined a scene (Place Task) or judged its pleasantness (Pleasant Task). During the recognition test, subjects decided which task was performed with each word (“Old Place Task” or “Old Pleasant Task”) or “New.” FFMQ scores and source discrimination were greater post-training than pre-training in the mindfulness meditation experimental group. Electroencephalography (EEG) results revealed that for the mindfulness meditation experimental group theta power was greater post-training than pre-training in right frontal and left parietal channels and changes in FFMQ scores correlated with changes in theta oscillations in right frontal channels (n = 20). The present results suggest that mindfulness meditation increases source memory retrieval and theta oscillations in a fronto-parietal network.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6738165/