Neural and molecular changes during a mind-body reconceptualization, meditation, and open label placebo healing intervention
Communications Biology November 6, 2025 Alex Jinich‐diamant, Sierra Simpson, Juan Pablo Zuniga-Hertz et al. 4 citations
A 7-day retreat combining meditation, reconceptualization, and open-label placebo healing rituals produced broad short-term neural and molecular changes in 20 healthy participants. Meditation reduced functional integration in the default mode and salience networks and decreased whole-brain modularity. Post-intervention plasma increased neurite outgrowth, enhanced glycolytic metabolism, and induced upregulation of BDNF, inflammatory, anti-inflammatory, and endogenous opioid pathways, while modulating tryptophan metabolism and neurotransmission-associated exosome miRNA transcripts. These changes suggest enhanced neuroplasticity, metabolic reprogramming, and modulation of functional cell signaling pathways, highlighting the potential of mind-body techniques to affect neural circuits and pathways important to health and well-being.