https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:693247/UQ693247_OA.pdf

A Meta-Analysis of Compassion-Based Interventions: Current State of Knowledge and Future Directions.

The amygdala has been repeatedly implicated in emotional processing of both positive and negative valence stimuli. Previous studies suggest that the amygdala response to emotional stimuli is lower when the subject is in a meditative state of mindful attention, both in beginner meditators after an eight-week meditation intervention and in expert meditators. However, the longitudinal effects of meditation training on amygdala responses have not been reported when participants are in an ordinary, non-meditative state. In this study, we investigated how eight weeks of training in meditation affects amygdala responses to emotional stimuli in subjects when in a non-meditative state. Healthy adults with no prior meditation experience took part in eight weeks of either Mindful Attention Training, Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT; a program based on Tibetan Buddhist compassion meditation practices), or an active control intervention. Before and after the intervention, participants underwent an fMRI experiment during which they were presented images with positive, negative, and neutral emotional valences from the IAPS database while remaining in an ordinary, non-meditative state. Using a region-of-interest analysis, we found a longitudinal decrease in right amygdala activation in the Mindful Attention group in response to positive images, and in response to images of all valences overall. In the CBCT group, we found a trend increase in right amygdala response to negative images, which was significantly correlated with a decrease in depression score. No effects or trends were observed in the control group. This finding suggests that the effects of meditation training on emotional processing might transfer to non-meditative states. This is consistent with the hypothesis that meditation training may induce learning that is not stimulus- or task-specific, but process-specific, and thereby may result in enduring changes in mental function.

/pdf/effects-of-mindful-attention-and-compassion-meditation-2nue0tioz7.pdf

Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state

OBJECTIVE:
Kindness-based meditation (KBM) is a rubric covering meditation techniques developed to elicit kindness in a conscious way. Some techniques, for example, loving-kindness meditation and compassion meditation, have been included in programs aimed at improving health and well-being. Our aim was to systematically review and meta-analyze the evidence available from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the effects of KBM on health and well-being against passive and active control groups in patients and the general population.

METHOD:
Searches were completed in March 2013. Two reviewers applied predetermined eligibility criteria (RCTs, peer-reviewed publications, theses or conference proceedings, adult participants, KBM interventions) and extracted the data. Meta-analyses used random-effects models.

RESULTS:
Twenty-two studies were included. KBM was moderately effective in decreasing self-reported depression (standard mean difference [Hedges's g] = -0.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] [-1.08, -0.14]) and increasing mindfulness (Hedges's g = 0.63, 95% CI [0.22, 1.05]), compassion (Hedges's g = 0.61, 95% CI [0.24, 0.99]) and self-compassion (Hedges's g = 0.45, 95% CI [0.15, 0.75]) against passive controls. Positive emotions were increased (Hedges's g = 0.42, 95% CI [0.10, 0.75]) against progressive relaxation. Exposure to KBM may initially be challenging for some people. RESULTS were inconclusive for some outcomes, in particular against active controls. The methodological quality of the reports was low to moderate. RESULTS suffered from imprecision due to wide CIs deriving from small studies.

CONCLUSIONS:
KBM showed evidence of benefits for the health of individuals and communities through its effects on well-being and social interaction. Further research including well-conducted large RCTs is warranted.

/pdf/effect-of-kindness-based-meditation-on-health-and-well-being-4q4kehi182.pdf

Effect of kindness-based meditation on health and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Relationships between nurses’ empathy, self-compassion and dimensions of professional quality of life: A cross-sectional study

Improvements in stable, or dispositional, mindfulness are often assumed to accrue from mindfulness training and to account for many of its beneficial effects. However, research examining these assumptions has produced mixed findings, and the relation between dispositional mindfulness and mindfulness training is actively debated. A comprehensive meta-analysis was conducted on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of mindfulness training published from 2003-2014 to investigate whether (a) different self-reported mindfulness scale dimensions change as a result of mindfulness training, (b) key aspects of study design (e.g., control condition type, population type, and intervention type) moderate training-related changes in dispositional mindfulness scale dimensions, and (c) changes in mindfulness scale dimensions are associated with beneficial changes in mental health outcomes. Scales from widely used dispositional mindfulness measures were combined into 5 categories for analysis: Attention, Description, Nonjudgment, Nonreactivity, and Observation. A total of 88 studies (n = 5,787) were included. Changes in scale dimensions of mindfulness from pre to post mindfulness training produced mean difference effect sizes ranging from small to moderate (g = 0.28-0.49). Consistent with the theorized role of improvements in mindfulness in training outcomes, changes in dispositional mindfulness scale dimensions were moderately correlated with beneficial intervention outcomes (r = .27-0.30), except for the Observation dimension (r = .16). Overall, moderation analyses revealed inconsistent results, and limitations of moderator analyses suggest important directions for future research. We discuss how the findings can inform the next generation of mindfulness assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record

Meta-analytic evidence for effects of mindfulness training on dimensions of self-reported dispositional mindfulness.

The general purpose of this randomized controlled pilot study was to investigate the potential effects of The Four Immeasurables Program on empathy and measures assumed to be related to the development of empathy and empathic concern for others such as perceived stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion. Of primary interest was to study whether the program can alter the dispositional tendency to feel empathic concern rather than personal distress when perceiving another as in need, termed other-orientation. In a randomized controlled study, an experimental group (n=21) was enrolled in an 8-week Four Immeasurables Program based on the Buddhist meditations of loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity, as well as the practice of Tonglen (“taking and sending”). The control group (n=25) was assigned to a waiting-list condition. After controlling for pre-test scores, post-intervention results showed a trend towards increases in other-orientation in the experimental group - an increase that significantly correlated with meditation time and with decreases in perceived stress as well as increases in self-compassion and mindfulness. Additionally, significant increases in mindfulness and self-compassion and a significant decrease in perceived stress were obtained for the experimental group when compared to the controls.

/pdf/the-four-immeasurables-program-training-empathy-and-3l8yriisef.pdf

The Four Immeasurables Program: Training empathy and promoting altruism through meditation. An eight-week randomized controlled pilot study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a Buddhist meditation intervention on empathy, perceived stress, mindfulness, self-compassion, and of particular interest, the dispositional tendency to feel empathic concern rather than personal distress when perceiving another as in need, termed altruistic orientation. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 20) or a waiting list control group (n = 22). Results indicated a trend towards increases in altruistic orientation in the intervention group—an increase that significantly correlated with meditation time, decreases in perceived stress, and increases in self-compassion and mindfulness. Additionally, compared to the controls, significant increases in mindfulness and self-compassion and a significant decrease in perceived stress were obtained for the intervention group.

/pdf/promoting-altruism-through-meditation-an-8-week-randomized-toqhwi8egs.pdf

Promoting Altruism Through Meditation: An 8-Week Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

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The Four Immeasurables Program: Training empathy and promoting altruism through meditation. An eight-week randomized controlled pilot study.

Promoting Altruism Through Meditation: An 8-Week Randomized Controlled Pilot Study