Effects of Savoring Meditation on Positive Emotions and Pain-Related Brain Function: A Mechanistic Randomized Controlled Trial in People With Rheumatoid Arthritis
medRxiv September 8, 2023 Patrick H. Finan, Carly Hunt, Michael L. Keaser et al. 6 citations preprint
A brief Savoring Meditation intervention, compared to Slow Breathing, reduced experimental pain intensity ratings in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. It increased cerebral blood flow in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and connectivity between that region and the caudate during painful thermal stimulation. Participants also reported increased positive emotions and reduced anhedonic symptoms from before to after the intervention. These results suggest that Savoring Meditation engages reward-related brain circuits during pain, which may inform future work on clinical pain outcomes.