Adding mindfulness practice to standard pharmacological treatment for chronic migraine with medication overuse headache led to a significant reduction in headache frequency after one year, while standard treatment alone did not. Mindfulness patients also showed greater functional connectivity between the salience network and the left posterior insula and sensorimotor cortex, increased cortical thickness in the insula and anterior cingulate cortex, and a link between stronger insula-salience network connectivity and improved depression scores. These brain changes may help explain how mindfulness improves pain management and emotional regulation in this condition.
In people with chronic migraine and medication overuse headache, adding mindfulness practice to standard treatment was associated with increased functional connectivity in brain networks linked to serotonin and dopamine systems. After one year, those who practiced mindfulness showed greater serotonin-related connectivity in the caudate and accumbens nuclei, and greater dopamine-related connectivity in the right insular cortex, compared to those receiving standard treatment alone. These brain regions are involved in emotional, cognitive, and sensory processing of pain and addiction. The findings suggest that mindfulness may influence serotonin and dopamine systems, potentially contributing to its beneficial effects in chronic pain management.