Absence of structural brain changes from mindfulness-based stress reduction: Two combined randomized controlled trials
Tammi R. A. Kral, Kaley Davis, Cole Korponay, Matthew J. Hirshberg, Rachel Hoel, Lawrence Y. Tello, Robin I. Goldman, Melissa A. Rosenkranz, Antoine Lutz, Richard J. Davidson
Science Advances May 20, 2022 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abk3316 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA large, rigorously controlled study failed to find evidence that an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course changes brain structure. Combining data from two randomized controlled trials with 218 meditation-naïve participants, the study compared MBSR to an active control and a waitlist group. Using structural MRI scans before and after the intervention, researchers assessed gray matter volume, gray matter density, and cortical thickness. No neuroplastic changes were observed in the MBSR group compared to either control group, either across the whole brain or in regions previously reported to change. This contradicts widely referenced earlier claims that MBSR alters brain structure.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 218 |
| Population | Meditation-naïve adults |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based stress reduction |
| Duration | 8-week intervention, postintervention assessment |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Mindfulness-based stress reduction Randomized controlled trial Reduction mathematics Stress linguistics Neuroscience |
| Citations | 67 |
| Key finding | MBSR produced no neuroplastic changes in gray matter volume, gray matter density, or cortical thickness compared to either an active control or waitlist group. |
Abstract
Studies purporting to show changes in brain structure following the popular, 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course are widely referenced despite major methodological limitations. Here, we present findings from a large, combined dataset of two, three-arm randomized controlled trials with active and waitlist (WL) control groups. Meditation-naïve participants ( n = 218) completed structural magnetic resonance imaging scans during two visits: baseline and postintervention period. After baseline, participants were randomly assigned to WL ( n = 70), an 8-week MBSR program ( n = 75), or a validated, matched active control ( n = 73). We assessed changes in gray matter volume, gray matter density, and cortical thickness. In the largest and most rigorously controlled study to date, we failed to replicate prior findings and found no evidence that MBSR produced neuroplastic changes compared to either control group, either at the whole-brain level or in regions of interest drawn from prior MBSR studies.