Annual Review of Clinical Psychology
December 11, 2018
Joseph Wielgosz, Simon B. Goldberg, Tammi R. A. Kral et al.
441 citations
Mindfulness meditation is increasingly used in mental health interventions and has influenced basic research on psychopathology. This review examines mindfulness meditation through clinical neuroscience, linking its core capacities to cognitive and affective constructs from the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria. Effective applications are noted for depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and substance abuse, with emerging work on attention disorders, traumatic stress, dysregulated eating, and serious mental illness. Priorities for future research include identifying mechanisms, refining methods, and improving implementation. Mindfulness meditation shows promise for interventions, especially for psychiatric comorbidity, and its successes and challenges offer lessons for integrating contemplative traditions with clinical science.
Scientific Reports
November 22, 2019
Isaac N. Treves, Lawrence Y. Tello, Richard J. Davidson et al.
118 citations
A meta-analysis of 15 studies (17 samples, 879 adults) found a small positive relationship between mindfulness and the accuracy of body awareness, with an effect size of g = 0.21. When analyzed by study design, only randomized controlled trials showed a significant link (g = 0.20). Heterogeneity was low, but low fail-safe N estimates reduce confidence in the findings. The results suggest a small but potentially detectable association between mindfulness and body awareness accuracy.
Psychological Medicine
November 4, 2020
Simon B. Goldberg, Benjamin Shechet, Christopher R. Nicholas et al.
66 citations
Classical psychedelics such as psilocybin, ayahuasca, and LSD produce significant psychological effects lasting at least 24 hours after administration, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of 34 experimental studies involving 549 participants. Large effects were observed for reducing targeted symptoms in psychiatric samples, improving negative and positive affect, social outcomes, and existential or spiritual well-being, with between-group effect sizes ranging from Hedges' g = 0.84 to 1.08. Effects may be larger in clinical samples. Evidence for changes in personality traits or mindfulness was weak. No post-acute adverse effects were found, but high risk of bias, heterogeneity, and possible publication bias underscore the need for larger, placebo-controlled trials.
PLoS ONE
December 12, 2018
M. Hirshberg, Simon B. Goldberg, S. Schaefer et al.
33 citations
Different styles of brief contemplative practices produce distinct effects on affect and behavior, especially under stress. In a randomized experiment with 156 undergraduates, gratitude training improved positive affect more than breath awareness, while loving-kindness reduced implicit negative affect more than a control condition. However, gratitude training also increased reactivity to a cold pressor stressor: participants reported it as more aversive and showed greater increases in negative affect. Those with greater gains in implicit positive affect after gratitude training later rated neutral faces as less likable and were less likely to donate time to help others. These findings suggest that even brief introductory practices can have divergent outcomes, which may be amplified by stress.
Scientific Reports
January 28, 2026
Nicholas A. Carlisle, Otto Simonsson, Sarah Maccarthy et al.
About one in five people who have used psychedelics report at least one major life change they attribute to the experience. Common changes involve relationships (6.9%), diet and exercise (6.2%), quitting alcohol, tobacco, or other substances (5.5%), and religious beliefs (5.5%). In a larger, more diverse sample, higher religiosity, younger age, and greater lifetime psychedelic use were strongly associated with reporting such changes. The findings suggest that major life changes after psychedelic use are not rare and may vary by demographic factors, but more longitudinal research is needed to understand their persistence, valence, and health impact.