Correction: Epigenetic, psychological, and EEG changes after a 1-week retreat based on mindfulness and compassion for stress reduction in healthy adults: Study protocol of a cross-over randomized controlled trial.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283169.].

Epigenetic, psychological, and EEG changes after a 1-week retreat based on mindfulness and compassion for stress reduction in healthy adults: Study protocol of a cross-over randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: The main objective of the study will be to evaluate the effects of two widely used standardized mindfulness-based programs [Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT)], on epigenetic, neurobiological, psychological, and physiological variables. METHODS: The programs will be offered in an intensive retreat format in a general population sample of healthy volunteer adults. During a 7-day retreat, participants will receive MBSR and CCT in a crossover design where participants complete both programs in random order. After finishing their first 3-day training with one of the two programs, participants will be assigned to the second 3-day training with the second program. The effects of the MBSR and CCT programs, and their combination, will be measured by epigenetic changes (i.e., DNA methylation biomarkers), neurobiological and psychophysiological measures (i.e., EEG resting state, EKG, respiration patterns, and diurnal cortisol slopes), self-report questionnaires belonging to different psychological domains (i.e., mindfulness, compassion, well-being, distress, and general functioning), and stress tasks (i.e., an Arithmetic Stress Test and the retrieval of negative autobiographical memories). These measures will be collected from both groups on the mornings of day 1 (pre-program), day 4 (after finishing the first program and before beginning the second program), and day 7 (post-second program). We will conduct a 3-month and a 12-month follow-up using only the set of self-report measures. DISCUSSION: This study aims to shed light on the neurobiological and psychological mechanisms linked to meditation and compassion in the general population. The protocol was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (Identifier: NCT05516355; August 23, 2022).

How do mindfulness and compassion programs improve mental health and well-being? The role of attentional processing of emotional information.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although the benefits of Meditation-Based Programs are well documented, the mechanisms underlying these benefits have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, we examined whether: (1) formal training in mindfulness and compassion meditation modifies the distribution of attentional resources towards emotional information; and (2) whether changes in attentional processing of emotional information after the meditation programs mediate the improvements in psychological distress, emotion regulation, and well-being. METHODS: A sample of 103 participants enrolled in the study: 36 in the mindfulness program (MBSR), 30 in the compassion program (CCT), and 37 in the no-intervention comparison group (CG). The assessment before and after the programs included the completion of an emotional Attentional Blink task (AB) together with self-report measures of psychological distress, emotion regulation, and well-being. RESULTS: MBSR and CCT reduced similarly the AB deficit, whereas no changes occurred in the CG. This AB reduction was found for the different emotional and non-emotional stimuli (i.e., negative, positive, and neutral), showing a significant disengagement from first-target emotions and significant accessibility of second-target emotions to consciousness. The effects of both meditation programs on the psychological measures were mediated by changes in the AB and emotion regulation skills. LIMITATIONS: Due to our naturalistic design in a real-world community setting, random assignment of participants was not feasible. CONCLUSIONS: Meditation may promote more flexible and balanced attention to emotional information, which may be a key transdiagnostic mechanism underlying its benefits on emotional distress and well-being.

Efficacy of mindfulness to regulate induced emotions in the laboratory: A systematic review and meta-analysis of self-report and biobehavioral measures.

A substantial part of the research on the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions on mood regulation is conducted in the laboratory. Nevertheless, a systematic review of the results is lacking. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effects of mindfulness as an emotion regulation (ER) strategy when using mood induction procedures. A systematic search of databases was conducted and a total of 43 studies were included in the meta-analysis. We found a small significant overall effect size of mindfulness [g= -0.15 (95% CI [-0.30, -0.01], p = 0.04)], which became non-significant after removing outliers (g=-0.15, p = 0.06). We also found high levels of heterogeneity which was not explained by the moderating variables analyzed. Thus, there is limited meta-analytic evidence of the efficacy of mindfulness strategies in down-regulating or preventing heightened or chronic effects of induced mood states in well-controlled laboratory settings. We propose that this could be partially due to some limitations in laboratory methodologies and suggest some guidelines to overcome them in future primary research.

The effect of mindfulness on the inflammatory, psychological and biomechanical domains of adult patients with low back pain: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to study the effect of mindfulness-based program on the psychological, biomechanical and inflammatory domains of patients with chronic low back pain. METHODS: A multicentre randomized and controlled clinical trial of parallel groups in patients with chronic low back pain between March 2019 to March 2020. Participants with no experience in mindfulness based intervention, were randomized to receive (36 patients) or not (34 patients) mindfulness-based stress reduction program for chronic back pain (MBSR-CBP). The program was performed in 9 sessions. Patients with chronic low back pain due to symptomatic discopathy (degenerative disc disease or herniated disc) were included. The principal outcome was changes in the blood level of cortisol and cytokines (tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF- α), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-17 (IL-17)). Secondary outcomes (psychological factors, pain, and quality of life) were measured by validated questionnaires. RESULTS: Of the 96 randomized patients, 70 who completed the study were included in the analysis (mean [range] age: 53 [33-73] years; 66% females). MBSR-CBP stopped the increase in cortisol, and reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1ß (p = 0.05). It reduced depression (p = 0.046) and stress (p = 0.0438), perceived pain (p < 0.0001), and limitations related to health (p < 0.0001). It also increased the physical function (p = 0.002) and sleep quality (p = 0.05). Furthermore, it significantly increased life satisfaction (0.006), well-being (p = 0.001) and vitality (p < 0.0001). It also increased self-compassion (p < 0.0001) and significantly reduced the overidentification (p<0.0001) and catastrophization (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: MBSR-CBP could be part of a multidisciplinary approach in the management of patients suffering from chronic low back pain.

Not all types of meditation are the same: Mediators of change in mindfulness and compassion meditation interventions.

BACKGROUND: The general aim of the study was to examine the relative effectiveness and mediators of change in standardized mindfulness and compassion interventions. METHODS: A sample of 431 participants enrolled in a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR = 277) and a Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT = 154). The assessment before and after the program included a set of outcomes and mediators measures. A three-step data analysis plan was followed: ANCOVAs, Reliable Change Index, and mediations (simple and multiple). RESULTS: Both interventions yielded increased mindfulness, decentering, body awareness, and self-compassion. Yet, present-moment awareness improvements (i.e., decentering, and body awareness) were significantly larger in the MBSR than in CCT, whereas socio-emotional changes (i.e., common humanity and empathic concern) were larger in the CCT than in MBSR. The magnitude of effect sizes ranged from medium to large. Furthermore, both mindfulness and compassion interventions yielded similar changes in psychological distress (i.e., stress, anxiety, and depression), maladaptive cognitive processes (i.e., rumination and thought suppression), and well-being. The mediation models showed that although the MBSR program seemingly relies on changes in present-moment awareness mechanisms (i.e., decentering and body awareness) to reduce psychological distress and to improve well-being, the CCT program seemingly achieves the same positive outcomes through changes in socio-emotional mechanisms (i.e., common-humanity and empathy concern). LIMITATIONS: Due to our naturalistic design in real-world community setting, it was infeasible to randomly assign participants to conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that mindfulness and compassion programs operate through different pathways to reduce psychological distress and to promote well-being.

Corrigendum: Psychological Effects of a 1-Month Meditation Retreat on Experienced Meditators: The Role of Non-attachment.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01935.].

Does mindfulness change the mind? A novel psychonectome perspective based on Network Analysis.

If the brain is a complex network of functionally specialized areas, it might be expected that mental representations could also behave in a similar way. We propose the concept of 'psychonectome' to formalize the idea of psychological constructs forming a dynamic network of mutually dependent elements. As a proof-of-concept of the psychonectome, networks analysis (NA) was used to explore structural changes in the network of constructs resulting from a psychological intervention. NA was applied to explore the effects of an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program in healthy participants (N = 182). Psychological functioning was measured by questionnaires assessing five key domains related to MBSR: mindfulness, compassion, psychological well-being, psychological distress and emotional-cognitive control. A total of 25 variables, covering the five constructs, were considered as nodes in the NA. Participants significantly improved in most of the psychological questionnaires. More interesting from a network perspective, there were also significant changes in the topological relationships among the elements. Expected influence and strength centrality indexes revealed that mindfulness and well-being measures were the most central nodes in the networks. The nodes with highest topological change after the MBSR were attentional control, compassion measures, depression and thought suppression. Also, cognitive appraisal, an adaptive emotion regulation strategy, was associated to rumination before the MBSR program but became related to mindfulness and well-being measures after the program. Community analysis revealed a strong topological association between mindfulness, compassion, and emotional regulation, which supports the key role of compassion in mindfulness training. These results highlight the importance of exploring psychological changes from a network perspective and support the conceptual advantage of considering the interconnectedness of psychological constructs in terms of a 'psychonectome' as it may reveal ways of functioning that cannot be analyzed through conventional analytic methods.

Psychological Effects of a 1-Month Meditation Retreat on Experienced Meditators: The Role of Non-attachment.

Background: There are few studies devoted to assessing the impact of meditation-intensive retreats on the well-being, positive psychology, and personality of experienced meditators. We aimed to assess whether a 1-month Vipassana retreat: (a) would increase mindfulness and well-being; (b) would increase prosocial personality traits; and (c) whether psychological changes would be mediated and/or moderated by non-attachment. Method: A controlled, non-randomized, pre-post-intervention trial was used. The intervention group was a convenience sample (n = 19) of experienced meditators who participated in a 1-month Vipassana meditation retreat. The control group (n = 19) comprised matched experienced meditators who did not take part in the retreat. During the retreat, the mean duration of daily practice was 8-9 h, the diet was vegetarian and silence was compulsory. The Experiences Questionnaire (EQ), Non-attachment Scale (NAS), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), Temperament Character Inventory Revised (TCI-R-67), Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Self-Other Four Immeasurables (SOFI) and the MINDSENS Composite Index were administered. ANCOVAs and linear regression models were used to assess pre-post changes and mediation/moderation effects. Results: Compared to controls, retreatants showed increases in non-attachment, observing, MINDSENS, positive-affect, balance-affect, and cooperativeness; and decreases in describing, negative-others, reward-dependence and self-directedness. Non-attachment had a mediating role in decentring, acting aware, non-reactivity, negative-affect, balance-affect and self-directedness; and a moderating role in describing and positive others, with both mediating and moderating effects on satisfaction with life. Conclusions: A 1-month Vipassana meditation retreat seems to yield improvements in mindfulness, well-being, and personality, even in experienced meditators. Non-attachment might facilitate psychological improvements of meditation, making it possible to overcome possible ceiling effects ascribed to non-intensive practices.

Percepción de beneficios y bienestar en niños con enfermedades amenazantes para la vida: Un estudio integrador / Benefit finding and well-being in children with life threatening illnesses: An integrative study

Objective. We examined whether benefit finding (BF) in children with a life-threatening illness (such as cancer or organ transplantation) would be related to a wide range of positive and negative measures of psychological functioning and some medical variables. Methods. A sample of children with a life threatening illness (N=67, ages 7-18 years) completed the Benefit Finding Scale for Children (BFSC) and other positive and negative measures of psychological functioning. Results. Children exposed to a moderate severity of their disease had the strongest levels of BF. While BF was positively associated with different dimensions of well-being, it was generally not related to distress with some exceptions in the health-related quality of life domain. Conclusion. Our results showed that BF reflects a positive outcome in its own right and not just a mere reduction of distress. Yet, there are some health-related domains of quality of life that should be considered in therapeutic intervention to facilitate BF.

Objetivo. Examinamos en qué medida la percepción de beneficios o benefit finding (BF) en niños con una enfermedad amenazante para la vida (como el cáncer o el trasplante de órganos) estaría relacionado con un rango de medidas positivas y negativas de funcionamiento psicológico así como con algunas variables médicas. Método. Una muestra de niños con una enfermedad amenazante para la vida (N=67, edad entre 7 y 18 años) completaron la Escala de Percepción de Beneficios para Niños (Benefit Finding Scale for Children, BFSC) y otras medidas positivas y negativas de funcionamiento psicológico. Resultados. Los niños expuestos a una enfermedad de gravedad moderada mostraron niveles más altos de BF. BF se asoció positivamente a diferentes dimensiones de bienestar. Sin embargo, no se encontró relación con medidas de malestar, a excepción de algunos dominios de calidad de vida relacionados con la enfermedad. Conclusión. Estos resultados mostraron que el BF refleja un resultado positivo en sí mismo y no una mera reducción de malestar. A pesar de eso, deben considerarse algunos dominios de calidad de vida relacionados con la salud a la hora de realizar intervenciones terapéuticas para facilitar la percepción de beneficios.