MINDFULNESS AND RESPONSES TO EMOTIONAL STIMULI

How well can you control your emotions?

The essence of mindfulness is acceptance and non-reactivity. It’s like the old-fashioned tape recorder or the modern-day video surveillance camera; the equipment records but does not react to what it hears or sees. So it is with mindfulness.

Ordinarily, whenever there is an activating experience, there follows an emotional response on our part. The emotional response may be positive, negative or neutral. In between the activating experience and the emotional response is the interpolation of some belief or misbelief (eg ‘This is pleasant’, ‘This is unpleasant’, and so on) about the activating experience which causes us to pass judgment on, and then react emotionally to, the experience.

A recent study, involving more than 150 adults, evaluated the impact of long and short-term mindfulness meditation training on the amygdala response to emotional pictures in a healthy, non-clinical population of adults using blood-oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Now, the amygdala, at the end of the hippocampus, is part of the limbic system of our brain and is responsible for the processing of memory, decision-making and emotional responses, especially fear, anxiety and aggression. Mindfulness meditation and other forms of meditation can quieten the activity of the amygdala.

 Photo credit: National Institute of Mental Health.

Long-term meditators had 9081 hours of lifetime practice on average, primarily in mindfulness meditation. Short-term training consisted of an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course. The control group, made up of people with no meditation experience, was randomly assigned to a ‘health enhancement program’ over the same time period that included well-being practices, but not meditation specifically.

After an eight-week period, participants viewed and labelled photos as either emotionally positive, negative or neutral while undergoing a brain scan by functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Meditation training was associated with less amygdala reactivity to positive pictures relative to controls, but there were no group differences in response to negative pictures. Reductions in reactivity to negative stimuli may require more practice experience or concentrated practice, as hours of retreat practice in long-term meditators was associated with lower amygdala reactivity to negative pictures, although the researchers did not see this relationship for practice time with MBSR.

Short-term training, compared to the control intervention, also led to increased functional connectivity between the amygdala and a region implicated in emotion regulation (in particular, the processing of risk and fear), namely, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), during affective pictures. Thus, meditation training may improve affective responding through reduced amygdala reactivity, and heightened amygdala–VMPFC connectivity during affective stimuli may reflect a potential mechanism by which MBSR exerts salutary effects on emotion regulation ability.

Study: Krak T R A et al. ‘Impact of short- and long-term mindfulness meditation training on amygdala reactivity to emotional stimuli.’ NeuroImage vol 181, 1 November 2018, 301-313.

MINDFULNESS HELPS STOP YOUR MIND FROM WANDERING

'I wonder as I wander.' For some people, it's more a case of, 'I wander as I wonder.' For others -- far too many, in fact -- it's simply, 'I wander as I wander.'

A new study from the University of Waterloo set out to see whether a short bout of mindfulness training might help focus the minds of people who are clinically anxious.

‘Our results indicate that mindfulness training may have protective effects on mind wandering for anxious individuals,’ said study author Mengran Xu, pictured right, in a statement. ‘We also found that meditation practice appears to help anxious people to shift their attention from their own internal worries to the present-moment external world, which enables better focus on a task at hand.’

Previous studies have found that mindfulness meditation can quell the mind’s tendency to wander, by quieting a region of the brain known as the default mode network (DMN)—the part of the brain that’s ‘on’ when our minds are just wandering about. Other studies have shown its physical effects on the brain over time, not the least of which is its connection to greater volume in areas like the hippocampus, which in part governs emotion regulation (and is smaller in depressed people) and reduced volume in the amygdala, which plays a central role in stress and fear. And a study last month found that the two classic forms of meditation, focused attention and open monitoring, have the capacity to reduce the number of ‘intrusive’ thoughts people had when they were asked to conjure up a personal fear.

Study: Xu M, Purdon C, Seli P and Smilek D. ‘Mindfulness and mind wandering: The protective effects of brief meditation in anxious individuals.’ Consciousness and Cognition. Volume 51, May 2017, pp 157-165.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: See the Terms of Use and Disclaimer. The information provided on this blog is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your medical practitioner or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on this blog. For immediate advice or support call Lifeline on 13 1 1 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. For information, advice and referral on mental illness contact the SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) go online via sane.org

OF MICE AND MEDITATION—HOW IT WORKS

Mice that meditate? Well, why not? In this case, it was a scientifically-designed experiment to assess the effect of theta brainwave activity. Meditation increases theta wave activity, even when people are no longer meditating. The experiment involved creating what was probably the world’s first mouse model of meditation, using light to trigger brain activity similar to what meditation induces. The results were illuminating.

Many previous studies have shown that meditation reduces anxiety, lowers levels of stress hormones and improves attention and cognition. In one study of the effects of 2 to 4 weeks of meditation training, psychologist Dr Michael Posner, pictured left, of the University of Oregon and colleagues discovered changes in the white matter in volunteers’ brains, related to the efficiency of communication between different brain regions. The changes, picked up in scans, were particularly noticeable between the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and other areas.

The ACC regulates activity in the amygdala, a region of the brain that controls fearful responses and other emotional reactions as well as playing a primary role in the processing of memory and decision-making.

Posner’s team concluded that the changes in white matter could be responsible for meditation’s effects on anxiety. What was not known was how meditation could alter the white matter in this way. Posner theorized that it was related to changes in theta brainwaves. To test the theory, the team used what is known as optogenetics, that is, genetically engineering certain cells to be switched on by light. In this way, they were able to use pulses of light on mice to stimulate theta brainwave-like activity in the ACC.

Mice received 30 minutes of this stimulation for some 20 days. Before and after the treatment, the mice underwent behavioural tests to measure anxiety. When placed in a box with a light area and a dark area, fearful mice spend more time in the dark. The team found that mice that received theta wave stimulation were less anxious than mice given light pulses that induced other kinds of brainwaves, or who had no treatment at all.

Posner says this mirrors meditation’s ability to lower anxiety in humans and supports the involvement of theta waves in this effect. The team is still studying the white matter in the mouse brains and hope to report on any changes later.

Study: Weible A P, Piscopo D M, Rothbart M K, Posner M I, and Niell C M. ‘Rhythmic brain stimulation reduces anxiety-related behavior in a mouse model based on meditation training.’ PNAS 2017; published ahead of print, Feb 21, 2017, doi:10.1073/pnas.1700756114

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: See the Terms of Use and Disclaimer. The information provided on this blog is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your medical practitioner or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on this blog. In Australia, for immediate advice or support call Lifeline on 13 1 1 14, beyondblue on 1300 22 4636, or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, and for information, advice and referral on mental illness contact the SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) or go online via sane.org. In other countries, call the relevant mental health care emergency hotline or simply dial your emergency assistance telephone number and ask for help.

MINDFULNESS TRAINING IMPROVES YOUR BRAIN

A new systematic review has looked at all studies published prior to July this year that investigated brain changes associated with 8 weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction or mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

The combined results suggest that a short course of secular mindfulness training leads to multiple brain changes similar in nature to those seen in people who have practised religious or spiritual meditation for a lifetime.

Rinske Gotink [pictured left] and her colleagues found 30 relevant studies that used MRI or fMRI brain imaging to look at the effects of mindfulness training on brain structure and function, including 13 randomly controlled trials.

Associated brain changes, in terms of activity levels and volume and connectivity changes, have been reported in the prefrontal cortex (a region associated with conscious decision making and emotional regulation and other functions), the insula cortex (which represents internal body states among other things), the cingulate cortex (decision making), the hippocampus (memory) and the amygdala (emotion).

Based on what we know about the function of these brain regions, Gotink’s team said these changes appear to be consistent with the idea that mindfulness helps your brain regulate your emotions.

Study: Gotink, R A et al. ‘8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction induces brain changes similar to traditional long-term meditation practice – A systematic review.’ Brain and Cognition. Vol 108, Oct 2016, pp 32-41. Available online 16 Jul 2016.

Acknowledgments. This post is based on material appearing on the Readers Digest blog of the British Psychological Society.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: See the Terms of Use and Disclaimer. The information provided on this blog is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your medical practitioner or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on this blog. In Australia, for immediate advice or support call Lifeline on 13 1 1 14, beyondblue on 1300 22 4636, or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, and for information, advice and referral on mental illness contact the SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) or go online via sane.org. In other countries, call the relevant mental health care emergency hotline or simply dial your emergency assistance telephone number and ask for help.

THE POWER OF RIGHT MINDFULNESS

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am firmly convinced that the regular practice of mindfulness is a good thing—indeed, a very good thing. The medical and scientific journals are full of peer-reviewed articles attesting to the benefits of mindfulness for both body and mind. My blog is full of references to many of those articles.

We now know that engaging in mindfulness meditation for 30 minutes a day for 8 weeks can increase the density of grey matter in the brain’s hippocampus (a major component of the brain known to be im­por­tant for learn­ing and mem­o­ry, and in struc­tures as­so­ci­at­ed with self-a­ware­ness and stress). The re­duc­tions in stress re­ported by the par­ti­ci­pants were al­so cor­re­lat­ed with de­creased grey-mat­ter dens­ity in the amygdala, a struc­ture of the brain known to play an im­por­tant role in anx­i­e­ty and stress. The amygdala can effectively hijack the prefrontal cortex, being the area of the brain thought to be involved in planning complex cognitive behaviour and in the expression of personality and appropriate social behaviour. The regular practice of mindfulness quietens the amygdala and stabilizes the working of the prefrontal cortex.

Many companies have seized on mindfulness as a way of increasing the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of their employees. The corporate bosses have heard that the regular practice of mindfulness improves a person’s ability to cope with and release stress, enhances their cognitive functioning and performance, improves their concentration, attention to detail, memory and sensory processing, and reduces their mental distractedness. All that is good for the company. Of course it is, damn it. It registers in dollars---and more dollars. It’s the bottom line. No wonder some are using the term ‘McMindfulness.’

As I say, I am ‘sold’ on mindfulness. I write about mindfulness, I teach mindfulness, and I practise it, but I find it a bit sad when I see mindfulness being exploited---yes, exploited---for purely pecuniary gains. I don’t really believe for one moment that these companies actually care all that much about their employees. They simply want them to work hard so that they can make money for the company. There, I said it.

What so many people forget is that mindfulness is a spiritual practice. Yes, first and foremost, it is spiritual. The English word ‘spirit’ comes from the Latin word spiritus meaning, among other things, breath, breathing, air, inspiration, character, spirit, life, vigour, and courage. Spirituality does not require nor depend upon any notions of supernaturalism (whatever that word means) but refers to non-physical and non-transient things such as faith, hope and charity as well as states of affairs or human consciousness which, going ‘beyond words’, are only partially (if at all) graspable by human concepts--things that cannot be seen but which are otherwise capable of being apprehended, if not fully understood. Spirituality is thus a composite word referring to the domain where mind, personality, purpose, ideals, values and meanings dwell, and is concerned with the development of the mind, the emotions and the will. And, oh yes, spirituality and religion are not the same thing.

Now, you don’t have to be a Buddhist to practise mindfulness, but I will quote from the Buddha because he is said to have achieved enlightenment through the practice of mindfulness. However, the Buddha spoke about ‘right mindfulness’---not just mindfulness, but right mindfulness. Do you want to know what right mindfulness is all about? Please read on.

‘One is mindful to abandon wrong view and to enter and remain in right view: This is one's right mindfulness ...

‘One is mindful to abandon wrong resolve and to enter and remain in right resolve: This is one's right mindfulness ...

‘One is mindful to abandon wrong speech and to enter and remain in right speech: This is one's right mindfulness ...

‘One is mindful to abandon wrong action and to enter and remain in right action: This is one's right mindfulness ...

‘One is mindful to abandon wrong livelihood and to enter and remain in right livelihood: This is one's right mindfulness ...’

                           Maha-cattarisaka Sutta: The Great Forty, 117.

Right mindfulness is about right and wrong as respects one’s views, resolve, speech, action and livelihood. That last one---right livelihood---now, that's a real zinger. How many livelihoods actually assist humanity? How many relieve poverty, suffering and distress? And how many help the marginalized and the disadvantaged in our world?

If there is a ‘purpose’ to mindfulness it is this—to provide a means whereby the practitioner can gain insight through self-observation. But even that is not an end in itself. Do you want to know the real end-purpose of mindfulness? It is this---that we might become more loving and more compassionate human beings. And here's some wisdom from the Buddhist monk, teacher and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh: 'Compassion is a verb.' That's right. It's something we do. Right action.

Living mindfully does indeed make us more aware of who we really are. By self-observation we gain insight into our thoughts, feelings, and actions, and over time we become more directly aligned to the flow of life of which we all are a part. That can only be a good thing. It’s all very empowering. However, without right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, and right livelihood, we are nothing. My biggest objection to the New Age movement is not its irrationality and at times downright silliness but its utter selfishness and self-centredness. It’s all about ‘me’—my life, my career, my happiness, and my self-fulfillment. The result? We just become more selfish, more self-satisfied, more self-centered, and more self-absorbed and self-obsessed. And that is not a good thing.

So-called 'mindfulness'---without right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, and right livelihood---is simply not mindfulness at all. 

Loving-kindness and compassion. That, my friends, is what mindfulness is all about.


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MINDFULNESS CHANGES BRAIN STRUCTURE IN JUST 8 WEEKS

Participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress.

In a study that appeared in the January 30, 2011 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditation-produced changes over time in the brain's grey matter (the brain tis­sue that con­tains nerve cells).

Anal­y­sis of the brain scans, which fo­cused on ar­eas where medita­t­ion-as­so­ci­at­ed dif­fer­ences were seen in ear­li­er stud­ies, found in­creased grey-mat­ter dens­ity in the hip­po­cam­pus, known to be im­por­tant for learn­ing and mem­o­ry, and in struc­tures as­so­ci­at­ed with self-a­ware­ness, compas­sion, empathy, in­tro­spec­tion and stress.

The re­duc­tions in stress re­ported by the par­ti­ci­pants were al­so cor­re­lat­ed with de­creased grey-mat­ter dens­ity in the amyg­da­la, a struc­ture known to play an im­por­tant role in anx­i­e­ty and stress, re­search­ers said. None of these changes were seen in the non-med­i­ta­tors.

Yes, it appears that meditating for half an hour a day for 8 weeks can increase the density of grey matter in the hippocampus ... further proof, it that be needed, of both the plasticity of our brains and the health and other benefits of meditation (especially mindfulness meditation).

There are now about 1,500 studies on mindfulness, but many more studies examining the benefits of mindfulness are emerging.

All very exciting.

NOTE. This blog sets out a simple form of mindfulness sitting meditation.

Resource: Britta K Hölzel, James Carmody, Mark Vangel, Christina Congleton, Sita M Yerramsetti, Tim Gard, Sara W Lazar. Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 2011; 191 (1): 36 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2010.08.006

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