Journal Article10.1038/s41598-024-62960-w
A single-arm, open-label pilot study of neuroimaging, behavioral, and peripheral inflammatory correlates of mindfulness-based stress reduction in multiple sclerosis
Christopher C. Hemond,Mugdha Deshpande,Idanis Berrios-Morales,Shaokuan Zheng,Jerrold S. Meyer,George M. Slavich,Steve W. Cole +6 more
TL;DR: A single-arm, open-label pilot study investigating the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on inflammatory and behavioral outcomes in multiple sclerosis. MBSR was associated with improvements in behavioral outcomes and changes in inflammatory markers.
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Abstract: Abstract Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease frequently associated with significant fatigue, anxiety, depression, and stress. These symptoms are difficult to treat, and prominently contribute to the decreases in quality of life observed with MS. The underlying mechanisms of these “silent” symptoms are not well understood and include not just the psychological responses to a chronic disease, but also biological contributions from bidirectional psycho-neuro-immune (dys)regulation of systemic inflammatory biology. To address these issues, we conducted a prospective, observational pilot study to investigate the psychological, biological, and neuroarchitecture changes associated with a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program in MS. The overarching hypothesis was that MBSR modulates systemic and central nervous system inflammation via top-down neurocognitive control over forebrain limbic areas responsible for the neurobiological stress response. 23 patients were enrolled in MBSR and assessed pre/post-program with structural 3 T MRI, behavioral measures, hair cortisol, and blood measures of peripheral inflammation, as indexed by the Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity (CTRA) profile. MBSR was associated with improvements across a variety of behavioral outcomes, as well as on-study enlargement of the head of the right hippocampus. The CTRA analyses revealed that greater inflammatory gene expression was related to worse patient-reported anxiety, depression, stress, and loneliness, in addition to lower eudaimonic well-being. Hair cortisol did not significantly change from pre- to post-MBSR. These results support the use of MBSR in MS and elucidate inflammatory mechanisms related to key patient-reported outcomes in this population.
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Neurobiological Changes Induced by Mindfulness and Meditation: A Systematic Review
Andrea Calderone,Desiree Latella,Federica Impellizzeri,Paolo de Pasquale,Fausto Famà,Angelo Quartarone,R. S. Calabrò +6 more
TL;DR: This systematic review synthesizes research on neurobiological changes induced by mindfulness and meditation, highlighting enhancements in emotional regulation, brain structure, and stress resilience, particularly through Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) practices.
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Nicole D. Powell,Erica K. Sloan,Michael T. Bailey,Jesusa M.G. Arevalo,Gregory E. Miller,Edith Chen,Michael S. Kobor,Brenda F. Reader,John F. Sheridan,Steven W. Cole,Steven W. Cole +10 more
TL;DR: The results suggest that sympathetic nervous system-induced up-regulation of myelopoiesis mediates the proinflammatory component of the leukocyte CTRA dynamic and may contribute to the increased risk of inflammation-related disease associated with adverse social conditions.
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George M. Slavich,Steven W. Cole +1 more
TL;DR: The molecular models resulting from this research provide new opportunities for understanding how social and genetic factors interact to shape complex behavioral phenotypes and susceptibility to disease and challenges the fundamental belief that the molecular makeup of the human genome is relatively stable and impermeable to social-environmental influence.
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Barbara L. Fredrickson,Karen M. Grewen,Kimberly A. Coffey,Sara B. Algoe,Ann Firestine,Jesusa M.G. Arevalo,Jeffrey Ma,Steven W. Cole +7 more
TL;DR: The finding that hedonic and eudaimonic well-being engage distinct gene regulatory programs despite their similar effects on totalWell-being and depressive symptoms implies that the human genome may be more sensitive to qualitative variations in well- being than are the authors' conscious affective experiences.
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