Integrative Body-mind Training Research Articles

Salivary testosterone and cortisol response in acute stress modulated by seven sessions of mindfulness meditation in young males

Stress is an established risk factor for negative health outcomes. Salivary cortisol and testosterone concentrations increase in response to acute psychosocial stress. It’s crucial to reduce stress for health and well-being through evidence-based interventions. Body-mind interventions such as meditation and Tai Chi have shown reduced cortisol levels but mixed results in testosterone concentration after stress. To address this research gap, we conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial to examine the modulating effects of a short-term (seven 20-minute sessions) mindfulness meditation on testosterone and cortisol in response to acute stress. Using one form of mindfulness meditation – Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) and an active control–relaxation training (RT), we assessed salivary cortisol and testosterone concentrations at three stages of stress intervention – rest, stress, and an additional 20-min IBMT or RT practice. We found increased cortisol and testosterone concentrations after acute stress in both groups, but testosterone rise was not associated with cortisol rise. Moreover, an additional practice immediately after stress produced higher testosterone concentrations in the IBMT group than the RT group, whereas cortisol concentration increased in the RT group than in the IBMT group at the same time point. These findings indicate that brief mindfulness intervention modulates a dual-hormone profile of testosterone and cortisol in response to acute stress presumably via the co-regulation of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal and hypothalamus-pituitary-testicular axes.

Progressive increase of high-frequency EEG oscillations during meditation is associated with its trait effects on heart rate and proteomics: a study on the Tibetan Buddhist.

Meditation has been a spiritual and healing practice in the East for thousands of years. However, the neurophysiologic mechanisms underlying its traditional form remain unclear. In this study, we recruited a large sample of monks (n = 73) who practice Tibetan Buddhist meditation and compared with meditation-naive local controls (n = 30). Their electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocardiogram signals were simultaneously recorded and blood samples were collected to investigate the integrative effects of Tibetan Buddhist on brain, heart, and proteomics. We found that the EEG activities in monks shifted to a higher frequency from resting to meditation. Meditation starts with decrease of the (pre)frontal delta activity and increase of the (pre)frontal high beta and gamma activity; while at the deep meditative state, the posterior high-frequency activity was also increased, and could be specified as a biomarker for the deep meditation. The state increase of posterior high-frequency EEG activity was significantly correlated with the trait effects on heart rate and nueropilin-1 in monks, with the source of brain-heart correlation mainly locating in the attention and emotion networks. Our study revealed that the effects of Tibetan Buddhist meditation on brain, heart, and proteomics were highly correlated, demonstrating meditation as an integrative body-mind training.

Comparative evaluation of effect of two relaxation breathing exercises on anxiety during buccal infiltration anesthesia in children aged 6-12 years: A randomized clinical study.

Dental procedures, especially local anesthetic administration, are a source of great anxiety to children. Diaphragmatic breathing is defined as an efficient integrative body-mind training for dealing with stress and psychosomatic conditions. Pinwheel exercise is also a highly effective technique of "play therapy." This study aimed to compare dental anxiety using pinwheel breathing exercise and diaphragmatic breathing exercise during buccal infiltration anesthesia. Sixty children in the age group of 6-12 years with Frankel's behavior rating score of 3 who required buccal infiltration local anesthesia were selected. Subjects were divided randomly into two groups, i.e., Group A: children who performed pinwheel breathing exercise and Group B: children who performed diaphragmatic breathing exercise. The level of anxiety of the patients was recorded using an animated emoji scale. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20 software with paired t-test and Chi-square test. There was a significant reduction in dental anxiety score from score 1 (before the anesthetic procedure) to score 2 (after the anesthetic procedure) in both the groups. On intergroup analysis, children who performed pinwheel breathing exercise (Group A) showed higher values than children who performed deep breathing exercise without pinwheel (Group B) with a t value of 1.42 but was not statistically significant with a P value of 0.161. Pinwheel breathing exercise as well as diaphragmatic breathing exercise proved to be significantly effective in reducing dental anxiety during local anesthesia.

Brief Mindfulness Meditation Induces Gray Matter Changes in a Brain Hub.

Previous studies suggest that the practice of long-term (months to years) mindfulness meditation induces structural plasticity in gray matter. However, it remains unknown whether short-term (<30 days) mindfulness meditation in novices could induce similar structural changes. Our previous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) identified white matter changes surrounding the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) within 2 to 4 weeks, following 5-10 h of mindfulness training. Furthermore, these changes were correlated with emotional states in healthy adults. The PCC is a key hub in the functional anatomy implicated in meditation and other perspectival processes. In this longitudinal study using a randomized design, we therefore examined the effect of a 10 h of mindfulness training, the Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) on gray matter volume of the PCC compared to an active control—relaxation training (RT). We found that brief IBMT increased ventral PCC volume and that baseline temperamental trait—an index of individual differences was associated with a reduction in training-induced gray matter increases. Our findings indicate that brief mindfulness meditation induces gray matter plasticity, suggesting that structural changes in ventral PCC—a key hub associated with self-awareness, emotion, cognition, and aging—may have important implications for protecting against mood-related disorders and aging-related cognitive declines.

Brief mindfulness training increased glutamate metabolism in the anterior cingulate cortex.

Mindfulness meditation has become a promising intervention for promoting health and well-being. Neuroimaging studies have shown its beneficial effects on brain functional activity, connectivity, and structures following months to years of practice. A series of randomized controlled trials indicated that one form of mindfulness meditation, the integrative body-mind training (IBMT) induces brain functional and structural changes in brain regions related to self-control networks such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) after 2-10 h of practice. However, whether IBMT could change brain metabolism in the ACC remains unexplored. Utilizing a noninvasive 3T proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, our results showed a significant increase in glutamate metabolism in the rostral ACC following 10 h of IBMT, suggesting that brief training not only increases ACC activity and structure, but also induces neurochemical changes in regions of the self-control networks. To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating the positive effects on brain metabolism in the ACC following brief intervention, suggesting a potential mechanism and implications of mindfulness meditation in ameliorating disorders such as addiction, depression and schizophrenia, which often involve the dysfunction of self-control networks and glutamatergic system (i.e. lower glutamate metabolism).

Long-Term Physical Exercise and Mindfulness Practice in an Aging Population.

Previous studies have shown that physical exercise and mindfulness meditation can both lead to improvement in physical and mental health. However, it is unclear whether these two forms of training share the same underlying mechanisms. We compared two groups of older adults with 10 years of mindfulness meditation (integrative body-mind training, IBMT) or physical exercise (PE) experience to demonstrate their effects on brain, physiology and behavior. Healthy older adults were randomly selected from a large community health project and the groups were compared on measures of quality of life, autonomic activity (heart rate, heart rate variability, skin conductance response, respiratory amplitude/rate), immune function (secretory Immunoglobulin A, sIgA), stress hormone (cortisol) and brain imaging (resting state functional connectivity, structural differences). In comparison with PE, we found significantly higher ratings for the IBMT group on dimensions of life quality. Parasympathetic activity indexed by skin conductance response and high-frequency heart rate variability also showed more favorable outcomes in the IBMT group. However, the PE group showed lower basal heart rate and greater chest respiratory amplitude. Basal sIgA level was significantly higher and cortisol concentration was lower in the IBMT group. Lastly, the IBMT group had stronger brain connectivity between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the striatum at resting state, as well as greater volume of gray matter in the striatum. Our results indicate that mindfulness meditation and physical exercise function in part by different mechanisms, with PE increasing physical fitness and IBMT inducing plasticity in the central nervous systems. These findings suggest combining physical and mental training may achieve better health and quality of life results for an aging population.

Promoting Psychological Well-Being Through an Evidence-Based Mindfulness Training Program.

Psychological well-being is a core feature of mental health, and may be defined as including hedonic (enjoyment, pleasure) and eudaimonic (meaning, fulfillment) happiness, as well as resilience (coping, emotion regulation, healthy problem solving). To promote psychological well-being, it is helpful to understand the underlying mechanisms associated with this construct and then develop targeted and effective training programs. In this perspective article, we discuss key components and potential brain-body mechanisms related to psychological well-being and propose mindfulness training as a promising way to improve it. Based on a series of randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies of one form of mindfulness training in adolescents and adults, the integrative body-mind training (IBMT), we use IBMT as an exemplar to provide research evidence of the positive effects of mindfulness training on psychological well-being. We focus on one of the mechanisms by which IBMT enhances psychological well-being—the interaction between mind (mindfulness) and body (bodifulness)—which involves both the central nervous system (CNS) and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). We also highlight the role of brain self-control networks, including the anterior cingulate cortex/prefrontal cortex (ACC/PFC), in improving psychological well-being. We suggest that mindfulness training may be a promising program that promotes the synergistic engagement of mind and body to achieve the goals of enhancing psychological well-being.

144. Brief Mindfulness Intervention Improves Emotion Regulation in Healthy and Patient Populations

One form of mindfulness intervention - Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) improves self-control ability through strengthening brain activity and connectivity of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum. Depression often shows deficits in self-control of attention, emotion. However, whether a brief mindfulness intervention reduces affective state dysregulation and symptoms remains unclear. This pilot study aims to examine the efficacy of IBMT in college students with first episode depression and its brain mechanism.

Brief mindfulness training alters causal brain connections in mTBI

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant cause of disability in the United States and the mild TBI (mTBI) is the most prevalent. Previous research indicates the positive effect of mindfulness training on symptoms of chronic mTBI such as cognitive functioning and emotion [1]. However it remains unclear which brain regions play a crucial role in mTBI recovery and the causal relationship among these regions. Here we apply a dynamic causal modeling (DCM) in resting state fMRI [2] to demonstrate the causal relationships among the core regions involved in mTBI. Fourteen veteran students with mTBI were recruited through campus advertisements. We used 2 weeks of integrative body-mind training as mindfulness intervention, previously reported in our series of randomized studies [3,4]. All data were collected using a 3-Telsa Siemens Skyra scanner. Functional data were processed using the Data Processing Assistant for Resting-State fMRI, which is based on SPM and Resting-State fMRI Data Analysis Toolkit. Based on literature, we specified four regions of interest within default mode network (DMN) - medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and bilateral inferior parietal lobule (Left IPL and Right IPL), same regions and coordinates as in previous sDCM studies [2,5]. Based on SPM12, we estimated and specified the DCM for each subject and later compared the differences of effective connectivity before and after mindfulness. Our results suggest the different causal relationships following mindfulness training. Specifically, after training there was a significant decrease in the strength of excitatory input from mPFC to PCC, and a significant increase in the strength of inhibitory input from mPFC to LIPL (all p<0.05).

Short-term meditation increases blood flow in anterior cingulate cortex and insula.

Asymmetry in frontal electrical activity has been reported to be associated with positive mood. One form of mindfulness meditation, integrative body-mind training (IBMT) improves positive mood and neuroplasticity. The purpose of this study is to determine whether short-term IBMT improves mood and induces frontal asymmetry. This study showed that 5-days (30-min per day) IBMT significantly enhanced cerebral blood flow (CBF) in subgenual/adjacent ventral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), medial prefrontal cortex and insula. The results showed that both IBMT and relaxation training increased left laterality of CBF, but only IBMT improved CBF in left ACC and insula, critical brain areas in self-regulation.

Mood and personality predict improvement in creativity due to meditation training

Studies have shown a mean improvement of creative performance following meditation, however, differences among individuals have been neglected. We examine whether short-term integrative body–mind training (IBMT), can improve creative performance and seek to determine which people are most likely to benefit. In a randomized study using short-term IBMT or a control given same amount of relaxation training (30min/day for 7days), mood, personality and creative performances were assessed before and after training. The results indicated that the IBMT group had significantly greater creative performance than the relaxation control. A linear regression showed that five predictors in pre-tests including depression, anger, fatigue, introversion×vigor, and emotional stability×vigor accounted for 57% of the variance in the change in creativity before vs. after IBMT. Mood and personality may be useful tools to predict individual variation in the improvement of creative performance following meditation training.

Short term integrative meditation improves resting alpha activity and stroop performance.

Our previous research showed that short term meditation training reduces the time to resolve conflict in the flanker task. Studies also show that resting alpha increases with long term meditation practice. The aim of this study is to determine whether short term meditation training both increases resting alpha activity and reduces the time to resolve conflict in the Stroop task and whether these two effects are related. Forty-three Chinese undergraduates were randomly assigned an experiment group given 5days meditation training using integrative body-mind training (IBMT) and a relaxation training control. After training, only the IBMT group showed decreased conflict reaction time (RT), and increased resting mean alpha power. Moreover, the higher the enhancement of resting alpha power, the stronger the improvement of conflict RT. The results indicate that short term meditation diffusely enhances alpha and improves the ability to deal with conflict and moreover these two effects are positively related.

Effects of integrative body-mind training with cognitive rehabilitation based on the sensory integration training theory on executive function and anxiety and depression mood in patients with traumatic brain injury

Objective To study the effects of integrative body-mind training with cognitive rehabilitation based on the sensory integration training theory on executive function and anxiety and depression mood in patients with traumatic brain injury.Methods 85 cases were randomly divided into the control group (42 cases) and the treatment group (43 cases).The control group took targeted cognitive rehabilitation with sensory integration training theory and the treatment group was given targeted integrative bodymind training based on this training.Before training and after 3 months,the cognitive function and executive function were detected by the Behavioral Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS); the cognitive dysfunction were evaluated by Loewenstein Occupation Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA); Anxiety and Depression were evaluated by Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS).Results There was no marked differences in BADS,LOTCA,SDS and SAS scores before treatment; Compared with the control group,they were much improved after training; Moreover,they were much more improved in the treatment group than those of the control group.Conclusions Integrative bodymind training with cognitive rehabilitation based on the sensory integration training theory can improve the executive function and regulate the mood on cognitive dysfunction in patients with traumatic brain injury. Key words: Sensory integration training; Body-mind training; Traumatic brain injury; Executive function; Anxiety and depression

Modeling emotion-creativity interaction following brief training

One form of meditation training, the integrative body-mind training (IBMT) has been shown to improve attention, reduce stress and change self-reports of mood [1]. Here, we examine whether short-term IBMT can improve performance related to creativity and determine the role that mood may play in such improvement using the cross-lagged models. Forty healthy Chinese undergraduates were randomly assigned to short-term IBMT group or a relaxation training (RT) control group. Mood and creativity performance were assessed by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule [2] and Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) [3] respectively. ANOVAs revealed a group (IBMT vs. RT) × session (pre-training vs. post-training) interaction effect [F(1, 37) = 14.853; p < .01] and a session main effect [F(1, 37) = 36.156; p < .01] for TTCT. These results indicated that short-term (30 min per day for 7 days) IBMT improved creativity performance in the divergent thinking task than RT. The ANOVAs also revealed a group (IBMT vs. RT) × session (pre-training vs. post-training) interaction effect and a session main effect for positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) (all p < .01), indicating better emotional regulation than RT. In addition, the cross-lagged models [4] were used to explore the causal sequence between PA score and TTCT score (Figure ​(Figure1A)1A) and between NA score and TTCT score (Figure ​(Figure1B)1B) before and after IBMT training. The synchronous correlations (r PA-before × TTCT-before = .468, r PA-after × TTCT-after = .533; r NA-before × TTCT-before = -.499, r NA-after × TTCT-after = -.633) and the autocorrelations (r PA-before × PA-after = .823, r TTCT-before × TTCT-after = .591; r NA-before × NA-after = .705, r TTCT-before × TTCT-after = .591) were high in magnitude and statistically significant in the non-cross direction, which provides preliminary support for cross-lagged panel correlation. Figure 1 The causal sequence between PA score and TTCT score (A) and between NA score and TTCT score (B) before and after IBMT training. Ellipses indicate measured variables; Arrows depict hypothesized directional or “causal” links/associations; ... As predicted, PA had a positive cross-lagged impact on TTCT, which indicated a causal influence from positive mood changes to the creativity changes in IBMT group but not in RT group. In addition, NA had a negative cross-lagged impact on TTCT, which indicated a causal influence from negative mood changes to the creativity changes in the IBMT group but not in RT group.

Brief meditation increases fiber wiring between striatum and corona radiata

White matter tractography has becoming increasingly useful for the visualization and measurement of brain anatomical structures and connections in both cortical and subcortical regions. Our previous studies using Diffusion Tensor Imaging have revealed the changes of white matter indexes including fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity, and radial diffusivity at the corona radiata, an important white matter tract connecting the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to other structures including striatum after brief meditation training - integrative body-mind training (IBMT) in healthy college students [1,2]. Since ACC and striatum involve in self-control networks, here we seek to further investigate the mechanism of white matter changes by employing an innovative tracking method and targeting specific fiber bundle connecting ACC and striatum after 2-week of IBMT. Fourteen healthy undergraduates were recruited at campus and received 30 min of IBMT for 2-wk, with a total of five hours training. IBMT involves body relaxation, mental imagery, and mindfulness training, accompanied by selected music background and guided by IBMT coach [1,2]. DTI scans were preformed before and after 2-wk IBMT with a Philips 3T Achieva. DTIstudio was used for preprocessing that includes motion and eddy current correction, coregistration, and subsequent calculation of diffusion tensors and FA maps. Fiber Assignment by Continuous Tractography (FACT) method was then used with FA threshold set at 0.2 and principal eigenvector set at 45° for fiber tracking. Normalization was carried out with DiffeoMap to normalize subject images to atlas by linear and non-linear transformation. With the inverse linear and non-linear transformation matrices, the atlas, a brain parcellation map with 130 segmented ROI objects, was warped to the individual data space for each subject. ROIs in the left anterior corona radiata (ACR) and striatum were then defined by ROIeditor [3]. We focused on the number of fibers for the fiber bundle between striatum and left ACR, and compared within-group changes before and after 2-wk training. We found increased number of fibers penetrating both striatum and left ACR after 2-wk IBMT (P=0.000).

Improving creativity performance by short-term meditation.

BackgroundOne form of meditation intervention, the integrative body-mind training (IBMT) has been shown to improve attention, reduce stress and change self-reports of mood. In this paper we examine whether short-term IBMT can improve performance related to creativity and determine the role that mood may play in such improvement.MethodsForty Chinese undergraduates were randomly assigned to short-term IBMT group or a relaxation training (RT) control group. Mood and creativity performance were assessed by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) questionnaire respectively.ResultsAs predicted, the results indicated that short-term (30 min per day for 7 days) IBMT improved creativity performance on the divergent thinking task, and yielded better emotional regulation than RT. In addition, cross-lagged analysis indicated that both positive and negative affect may influence creativity in IBMT group (not RT group).ConclusionsOur results suggested that emotion-related creativity-promoting mechanism may be attributed to short-term meditation.

Short-term meditation induces changes in brain resting EEG theta networks

Many studies have reported meditation training has beneficial effects on brain structure and function. However, very little is known about meditation-induced changes in brain complex networks. We used network analysis of electroencephalography theta activity data at rest before and after 1-week of integrative body–mind training (IBMT) and relaxation training. The results demonstrated the IBMT group (but not the relaxation group) exhibited significantly smaller average path length and larger clustering coefficient of the entire network and two midline electrode nodes (Fz and Pz) after training, indicating enhanced capacity of local specialization and global information integration in the brain. The findings provide the evidence for meditation-induced network plasticity and suggest that IBMT might be helpful for alterations in brain networks.

Short-Term Meditation Intervention Improves Self-Regulation and Academic Performance

Background: Research has found that improved higher effortful control, a measure of self- regulation, improves performance of middle school students. Integrative body-mind training (IBMT) has been shown to improve attentional networks related to self-regulation. We hypothesize that an IBMT intervention will improve academic performance of adolescents. Methods: Students age 13-18 were recruited from middle and high school in Beijing, China and randomly assigned to either IBMT or a relaxation training control (RT). Students were given 6 weeks of IBMT intervention with 30 min per day at school. The improved performance in attention and aspects of academic performance were measured. Results: Compared to RT, IBMT intervention showed significantly greater improvement in attention and in academic performance (scores of literacy, math, and second language). Conclusions: Brief mindfulness meditation is an effective technique for improving cognitive function, including academic performance.

Cortisol Level Modulated by Integrative Meditation in a Dose‐dependent Fashion

Prior research has shown that an additional training session immediately after acute stress decreases release of salivary cortisol in a college student group trained with 5-day integrative body-mind training (IBMT) in comparison with a control group given the same amount of relaxation training. However, 5 days of training does not influence the basal secretion of cortisol. The current study seeks to extend this finding and determine whether increasing amounts of IBMT will decrease the basal cortisol level, suggesting reduced stress to daily activities. Thirty-four Chinese undergraduates were randomly assigned either to 4 weeks of IBMT or a relaxation control. Salivary cortisol levels at baseline before training and the three stages of a stress intervention test (i.e. rest, stress and additional 20-min practice) after 2 and 4 weeks of training were assessed. The basal cortisol level decreased significantly in the IBMT but not in relaxation group after 2 and 4 weeks of training. An additional IBMT practice session immediately after acute stress produced significantly lower cortisol release for the IBMT group in comparison with relaxation at weeks 2 and 4. The results indicate that IBMT produces a change in the basal endocrine system and larger acute effects as the dose of training increases.

Ventral-subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and self-transcendence

Ventral-subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and self-transcendence