Independent Associations Between Trait-Anger, Depressive Symptoms and Preclinical Atherosclerotic Progression.

BACKGROUND: Previous research from our group found that recent depressive symptoms were associated with 3-year change in carotid intima-media thickness (CA-IMT), a biomarker of cardiovascular disease risk, in an initially healthy sample of older adults. Trait measures of anxiety, anger, and hostility did not predict 3-year CA-IMT progression in that report. PURPOSE: The current study sought to reexamine these associations at a 6-year follow-up point. METHODS: Two-hundred seventy-eight participants (151 males, mean age = 60.68 years) from the original sample completed an additional IMT reading 6 years following the initial baseline assessment. RESULTS: Though not significant at 3-years, trait-anger emerged as a predictor of IMT progression at the 6-year point. When examined in separate regression models, both depression and trait-anger (but not anxiety or hostility) predicted 6-year IMT change (b = .017, p = .002; b = .029, p = .01, respectively). When examined concurrently, both depression and anger were independently associated with 6-year IMT progression (b = .016, p = .010, b = .028, p = .022, respectively). Exploratory analyses suggest that the relative contributions of anger and depression may differ for males and females. CONCLUSIONS: The use of sequential follow-ups is relatively unique in this literature, and our results suggest a need for further research on the timing and duration of psychosocial risk exposures in early stages of cardiovascular disease.

An electrophysiological investigation on the emotion regulatory mechanisms of brief open monitoring meditation in novice non-meditators.

Despite a growing literature supporting the salutary effects of mindfulness meditation on emotion regulation, the underlying mechanisms linking neural and subjective changes occurring during the actual practice of meditation with emotion regulatory effects observed after meditation remains virtually unexplored. The current study sought to address this gap in knowledge by testing the hypothesis that adoption of internally-directed focused attention, indexed by increased alpha and theta spectral power, during brief open monitoring (OM) mindfulness meditation predicts reduced emotional reactivity, as measured by the late positive potential (LPP). Results revealed that the OM meditation did not produce demonstrable differences in alpha and theta power but did increase self-reported sleepiness relative to controls. Follow-up analyses showed that sleepiness uniquely moderated the effect of meditation on the LPP, such that less sleepiness during meditation, but not the control audio, corresponded to smaller LPPs to negative images. Change in theta, but not alpha power, between meditation and rest was positively correlated with the LPP even after controlling for sleepiness. Although the primary hypothesis was unsupported, the findings demonstrate that phenomenological and neural changes occurring during OM meditation may modulate its subsequent "off-the-cushion" effects on emotional reactivity.

On Variation in Mindfulness Training: A Multimodal Study of Brief Open Monitoring Meditation on Error Monitoring.

A nascent line of research aimed at elucidating the neurocognitive mechanisms of mindfulness has consistently identified a relationship between mindfulness and error monitoring. However, the exact nature of this relationship is unclear, with studies reporting divergent outcomes. The current study sought to clarify the ambiguity by addressing issues related to construct heterogeneity and technical variation in mindfulness training. Specifically, we examined the effects of a brief open monitoring (OM) meditation on neural (error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe)) and behavioral indices of error monitoring in one of the largest novice non-meditating samples to date (N = 212). Results revealed that the OM meditation enhanced Pe amplitude relative to active controls but did not modulate the ERN or behavioral performance. Moreover, exploratory analyses yielded no relationships between trait mindfulness and the ERN or Pe across either group. Broadly, our findings suggest that technical variation in scope and object of awareness during mindfulness training may differentially modulate the ERN and Pe. Conceptual and methodological implications pertaining to the operationalization of mindfulness and its training are discussed.