Neurotransmitter-related functional connectivity changes in serotonin and dopamine systems after mindfulness in medication overuse headache.
Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache – June 01, 2025
Source: PubMed
Summary
Mindfulness practice can positively reshape brain chemistry, offering new hope for chronic pain. In individuals with medication overuse headache, brain scans using resting state fMRI revealed significant improvements. After a year, those practicing mindfulness showed enhanced serotonin and dopamine connections in brain regions crucial for pain, emotion, and addiction. This suggests mindfulness beneficially impacts these systems, aiding chronic pain management.
Abstract
Background/HypothesisMindfulness practice has gained attention in managing chronic migraine with medication overuse headache (CM-MOH), showing clinical improvements and functional connectivity reorganization. However, the relationship between these effects and the underlying neurotransmitter systems remains unexplored.MethodsThirty-four CM-MOH patients were divided into treatment as usual (TaU, N = 17) and mindfulness-added-to-TaU (TaU + MIND, N = 17) groups. Participants underwent resting-state fMRI scans before treatment and after one year. We adopted the neurotransmitter-related functional connectivity framework to investigate longitudinal functional changes associated with the distribution of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine systems by comparing TaU + MIND with TaU groups.ResultsWhen compared with TaU, TaU + MIND patients longitudinally showed increased serotonin-enriched functional connectivity in the caudate and accumbens nuclei, and increased dopamine-enriched functional connectivity in the right insular cortex.Conclusion/InterpretationThese regions are involved in emotional, cognitive, and sensory modulation of pain and addiction. Our findings suggest the impact of mindfulness practice on serotonin and dopamine systems with potential beneficial effects in chronic pain management.