Abstract
Mindfulness-based training reduces pain in clinical and experimental settings. Evidence suggests that these beneficial effects are facilitated via an increased focus on the present moment and a reduced emotional enhancement of pain. Most of the existing literature has focused on mindfulness as a learned skill and on the neural mechanisms that underlie the acquisition of this skill. It is unknown whether similar mechanisms are associated with trait mindfulness in the absence of training and whether these mechanisms confer the ability to cope with pain. To determine this, we measured trait mindfulness and pain responsivity in 40 healthy volunteers naive to mindfulness meditation. As a feature of interest, we targeted the default mode network (DMN), a network of interacting brain regions associated with processes such as introspective thought, mind wandering, and rumination. As extant studies have implicated the DMN in the beneficial effects of mindfulness, we examined resting-state connectivity of the precuneus, a core DMN node. Higher trait mindfulness was associated with higher pain thresholds (r = .43, P < .01) and lower pain catastrophizing (r = -.51, P < .01). Consistent with the neural mechanisms of trained mindfulness, higher trait mindfulness was associated with lower connectivity between the nodes of the DMN. It was also associated with higher connectivity between the DMN and somatosensory cortices. These findings are consistent with the processes taught in formal meditation training, namely increased focus on sensory experience and a decrease in emotional appraisal processes, indicating that behavioral and neurological mechanisms described in the interventional mindfulness literature also underlie trait mindfulness prior to any formal training. PerspectiveMindfulness research mostly focuses on mindfulness as a trained skill rather than a trait. Consistent with trained-mindfulness studies, we demonstrate that mindfulness is associated with variations in neural connectivity linked to sensory and evaluative processes. These findings indicate that trait mindfulness serves as a marker for individual differences in pain coping.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.