Trends in cognitive sciences
October 1, 2023
Kevin Berryman, Sara W Lazar, Jakob Hohwy
11 citations
Mindfulness meditation has both positive and negative effects on moral functioning, distributed across multiple dimensions of moral cognition and behavior. A multifactor construct that assesses outcomes across several aspects of morality reveals that contemplative practices do not uniformly improve morality; instead, they produce a mix of beneficial and detrimental influences on different moral actions. The study provides an empirically rigorous investigation into the impact of mindfulness on morality, showing that the effects are complex and not captured by unidimensional measures.
Biological psychiatry
January 1, 2024
Elizabeth A Hoge, Caroline H Armstrong, Mihriye Mete et al.
10 citations
Anxiety disorders are linked to heightened startle responses during unpredictable threat, a physiological marker called anxiety-potentiated startle (APS). In a study of 93 individuals with anxiety disorders and 66 healthy controls, APS was higher in the anxious group at baseline. After eight weeks of treatment with either escitalopram or mindfulness-based stress reduction, both treatment groups showed significantly greater reductions in APS compared to controls, with patients' APS levels falling into the range of healthy individuals. Fear-potentiated startle (FPS), a response to predictable threat, did not differ between groups at baseline nor change with treatment. These results validate APS as a biological correlate of pathological anxiety and provide evidence that mindfulness-based stress reduction can alter anxiety-related neurocircuitry similarly to medication.
Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging
April 1, 2025
Saampras Ganesan, Fernando A Barrios, Ishaan Batta et al.
6 citations
Meditation practices, which have shown therapeutic benefits for conditions like depression, pain, addiction, and anxiety, have been studied with neuroimaging over the past decade. However, existing neuroscientific models are based on small, heterogeneous datasets, limiting generalizability and replicability. The ENIGMA-Meditation consortium is the first worldwide collaborative effort to conduct systematic meta- and mega-analyses of globally distributed neuroimaging data using standardized methods. This framework aims to improve statistical power and address multidomain heterogeneity in meditation practice types, experience, and experimental design. The consortium will generate rigorous neuroscientific insights into the mechanisms underlying meditation's therapeutic effects on psychological and cognitive attributes.
Journal of mood and anxiety disorders
March 1, 2025
Diane Joss, Michael Datko, Charisma I Washington et al.
5 citations
Self-judgment, a symptom common to many psychological disorders, often follows childhood maltreatment and can make standard treatments less effective. In a pilot study of 24 adults with anxiety or depressive disorders (83% had multiple diagnoses), an eight-week mindful self-compassion program significantly reduced self-judgment and increased self-compassion. Participants who reported more childhood trauma improved more than those with less trauma. Brain scans showed that reduced self-judgment was linked to stronger connections between the posterior cingulate cortex and frontal regions involved in regulation and language, and weaker connections with the amygdala-hippocampal complex, suggesting the training lessens fear-related influences on self-referential thinking while boosting executive control.
Neuroscience letters
May 23, 2025
Diane Joss, Gunes Sevinc, John W Denninger et al.
1 citation
Among 94 chronically stressed but otherwise healthy adults randomized to eight weeks of meditation, yoga, or stress education, only the meditation group showed a significant reduction in resting-state functional connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex and the left hippocampus. Changes in this brain connectivity were correlated with improvements in perceived stress, allostatic load, and anti-inflammatory gene expression, suggesting that meditation's neural effects are closely linked to physical wellness biomarkers. No such changes occurred in the yoga or stress education groups, indicating this neurobiological mechanism may be unique to meditation training.