Minding one's emotions: mindfulness training alters the neural expression of sadness.

Author: Farb NA, Anderson AK, Mayberg H, Bean J, McKeon D, Segal ZV.
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Conference/Journal: Emotion
Date published: 2010 Feb
Other: Volume ID: 10 , Issue ID: 1 , Pages: 25-33 , Special Notes: Erratum in: Emotion. 2010 Apr;10(2):215. , Word Count: 152


Recovery from emotional challenge and increased tolerance of negative affect are both hallmarks of mental health. Mindfulness training (MT) has been shown to facilitate these outcomes, yet little is known about its mechanisms of action. The present study employed functional MRI (fMRI) to compare neural reactivity to sadness provocation in participants completing 8 weeks of MT and waitlisted controls. Sadness resulted in widespread recruitment of regions associated with self-referential processes along the cortical midline. Despite equivalent self-reported sadness, MT participants demonstrated a distinct neural response, with greater right-lateralized recruitment, including visceral and somatosensory areas associated with body sensation. The greater somatic recruitment observed in the MT group during evoked sadness was associated with decreased depression scores. Restoring balance between affective and sensory neural networks-supporting conceptual and body based representations of emotion-could be one path through which mindfulness reduces vulnerability to dysphoric reactivity.

PMID: 20141299 PMCID: PMC5017873 DOI: 10.1037/a0017151
[Indexed for MEDLINE] Free PMC Article

BACK