The DOI matches its Crossref record; 59 of the 59 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Effect of compassion meditation on neuroendocrine, innate immune and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress
Open accessAbstract
Meditation practices may impact physiological pathways that are modulated by stress and relevant to disease. While much attention has been paid to meditation practices that emphasize calming the mind, improving focused attention, or developing mindfulness, less is known about meditation practices that foster compassion. Accordingly, the current study examined the effect of compassion meditation on innate immune, neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress and evaluated the degree to which engagement in meditation practice influenced stress reactivity. Sixty-one healthy adults were randomized to 6 weeks of training in compassion meditation (n=33) or participation in a health discussion control group (n=28) followed by exposure to a standardized laboratory stressor (Trier social stress test [TSST]). Physiologic and behavioral responses to the TSST were determined by repeated assessments of plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 and cortisol as well as total distress scores on the Profile of Mood States (POMS). No main effect of group assignment on TSST responses was found for IL-6, cortisol or POMS scores. However, within the meditation group, increased meditation practice was correlated with decreased TSST-induced IL-6 (r(p)=-0.46, p=0.008) and POMS distress scores (r(p)=-0.43, p=0.014). Moreover, individuals with meditation practice times above the median exhibited lower TSST-induced IL-6 and POMS distress scores compared to individuals below the median, who did not differ from controls. These data suggest that engagement in compassion meditation may reduce stress-induced immune and behavioral responses, although future studies are required to determine whether individuals who engage in compassion meditation techniques are more likely to exhibit reduced stress reactivity.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Of the 14 studies with the highest quality ratings, 10 (71%) reported significant positive associations [437–443] or increased immune functions in response to a R/S intervention [444–447].”
From Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications (2012) · cites this paper as [439]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Other forms of behavioral interventions that have been used for the treatment of fear-and anxiety-based disorder, such as community-based educational intervention, exercise, yoga, and mediation, have also been associated with decreases in inflammation (Bower and Irwin, 2016;Pace et al, 2009;Villablanca et al, 2015).”
From Inflammation in Fear- and Anxiety-Based Disorders: PTSD, GAD, and Beyond (2017) · cites this paper as Pace et al, 2009
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the citing paper
“While more recent studies have recognized the importance of using social evaluative threat as the stressor rather than a generic emotional film, scripts or slides, (Creswell et al., 2007; Pace et al., 2009; Weinstein et al., 2009), none were intervention studies with clinical samples.”
From Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Improves Emotional Reactivity to Social Stress: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial (2012) · cites this paper as Pace et al., 2009
In the citing paper
“These results suggest that CM reduces stress-induced subjective distress and immune response.”
From Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation: Potential for Psychological Interventions (2011) · cites this paper as Pace et al., 2009
In the citing paper
“Second, the CM was taught by a highly expert teacher and practitioner with many years of training, whereas the active control was taught by graduate students with certainly little expertise, training or even practice with the protocol.”
From Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation: Potential for Psychological Interventions (2011) · cites this paper as Pace et al., 2009
In the citing paper
“However, a major limitation of this study was that the stress test was administered after, rather than before, CM training. Therefore, it is possible that associations between CM practice time and outcome in the stress task might have been due to differences in participants’ stress response rather than due to the practice itself”
From Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation: Potential for Psychological Interventions (2011) · cites this paper as Pace et al., 2009
In the citing paper
“First, they do not offer any clear alternative active psychological intervention procedure that has been practiced with the similar rigor of the CM.”
From Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation: Potential for Psychological Interventions (2011) · cites this paper as Pace et al., 2009
In the citing paper
“The groups showed no difference in plasma cortisol or interleukin-6 concentration.”
From Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation: Potential for Psychological Interventions (2011) · cites this paper as Pace et al., 2009
In the citing paper
“Therefore, the active control condition is hardly better than a treatment-as-usual comparison.”
From Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation: Potential for Psychological Interventions (2011) · cites this paper as Pace et al., 2009
In the citing paper
“However, increased meditation practice was associated with decreased stress-induced interleukin-6 and subjective reports of distress in the meditation group.”
From Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation: Potential for Psychological Interventions (2011) · cites this paper as Pace et al., 2009
In the citing paper
“as well as a reduction of interleukin-6 release in response to a psychosocial stressor [23].”
From Short-term compassion training increases prosocial behavior in a newly developed prosocial game (2011) · cites this paper as [23]
In the citing paper
“The more time participants had actually spent training, the stronger the reduction in interleukin-6 release, suggesting a dose-dependent effect of compassion training.”
From Short-term compassion training increases prosocial behavior in a newly developed prosocial game (2011) · cites this paper as [23]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
(2008) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 7,477
Kirschbaum, C., Pirke, K.-M., & Hellhammer, D. H. (2008) · Neuropsychobiology · doi:10.1159/000119004 · Cited by 6,093
Dickerson, S. S., & Kemeny, M. E. (2004) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.355 · Cited by 5,881
Ridker, P. M., Hennekens, C. H., Buring, J. E., & Rifai, N. (2000) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm200003233421202 · Cited by 5,850 · cited 4×
“…increased levels of plasma IL-6 (and/or its downstream product c-reactive protein) predict the development of a number of disease states, including vascular disease, diabetes and dementia (Ridker, 2000; Pradhan et al., 2001; Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2003; Perry et al., 2007; Steptoe et al., 2007).”
BackgroundInfluentialC-Reactive Protein, Interleukin 6, and Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Pradhan, A. D. (2001) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.286.3.327 · Cited by 4,433 · cited 6×
“…data demonstrate that naturalistic life stress increases IL-6 and that elevated plasma levels of IL-6 are a risk factor for the development and/or progression of a number of disease states (Ridker, 2000; Pradhan et al., 2001; Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2003; Perry et al., 2007; Steptoe et al., 2007).”
BackgroundInfluentialPruessner, J. C., Kirschbaum, C., Meinlschmid, G., & Hellhammer, D. H. (2003) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/s0306-4530(02)00108-7 · Cited by 3,638 · cited 3×
“…increased levels of plasma IL-6 (and/or its downstream product c-reactive protein) predict the development of a number of disease states, including vascular disease, diabetes and dementia (Ridker, 2000; Pradhan et al., 2001; Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2003; Perry et al., 2007; Steptoe et al., 2007).”
BackgroundCytokines sing the blues: inflammation and the pathogenesis of depression
Raison, C. L., Capuron, L., & Miller, A. H. (2006) · Trends in Immunology · doi:10.1016/j.it.2005.11.006 · Cited by 3,009 · cited 1×
“Major depression has also been repeatedly associated with increased plasma concentrations of IL-6 (Raison et al., 2006).”
BackgroundSelf-citationAlterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation
Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., Urbanowski, F., Harrington, A., Bonus, K., & Sheridan, J. F. (2003) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000077505.67574.e3 · Cited by 2,925 · cited 16×
“reported that training in mindfulness meditation enhanced antibody production following influenza vaccination (Davidson et al., 2003), and Carlson et al.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialAttention regulation and monitoring in meditation
Lutz, A., Slagter, H. A., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2008) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2008.01.005 · Cited by 2,659
McNair, D. M. (1992) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 2,527
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Byrom, 2005, A hotline to better data, Good Clin. Pract. J., 12, 1
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Inflammation and Its Discontents: The Role of Cytokines in the Pathophysiology of Major Depression
Miller, A. H., Maletic, V., & Raison, C. L. (2009) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.11.029 · Cited by 3,848
Self-citationReligion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications
Koenig, H. G. (2012) · ISRN Psychiatry · doi:10.5402/2012/278730 · Cited by 2,423
Slavich, G. M., & Irwin, M. R. (2014) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0035302 · Cited by 2,206
“Although there were no between-group effects, within the meditation group greater meditation practice was associated with fewer social stressinduced increases in IL-6 and emotional distress (Pace et al., 2009).”
BackgroundWebb, T. L., Miles, E., & Sheeran, P. (2012) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0027600 · Cited by 2,006
Handbook of Religion and Health
Koenig, H. G., VanderWeele, T. J., & Peteet, J. R. (2023) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190088859.001.0001 · Cited by 1,160
Haroon, E., Raison, C. L., & Miller, A. H. (2012) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/npp.2011.205 · Cited by 1,000
Self-citationFears of compassion: Development of three self‐report measures
Gilbert, P., McEwan, K., Matos, M., & Rivis, A. (2011) · Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice · doi:10.1348/147608310x526511 · Cited by 973
“Pace et al. (2008) found that compassion-focused meditations reduced stress-linked immune and behavioural responses.”
BackgroundLoving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation: Potential for Psychological Interventions
Hofmann, S. G., Grossman, P., & Hinton, D. E. (2011) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2011.07.003 · Cited by 960
“Therefore, the active control condition is hardly better than a treatment-as-usual comparison.”
InfluentialThe psychological effects of meditation: a meta-analysis
Sedlmeier, P., Eberth, J., Schwarz, M., Zimmermann, D., Haarig, F., Jaeger, S., & Kunze, S. (2012) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0028168 · Cited by 910
Reciprocal regulation of the neural and innate immune systems
Irwin, M. R., & Cole, S. W. (2011) · Nature Reviews Immunology · doi:10.1038/nri3042 · Cited by 910
Self-citationReconstructing and deconstructing the self: cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice
Dahl, C. J., Lutz, A., & Davidson, R. J. (2015) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2015.07.001 · Cited by 809
A Meta-Analysis of Compassion-Based Interventions: Current State of Knowledge and Future Directions
Kirby, J. N., Tellegen, C. L., & Steindl, S. R. (2017) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2017.06.003 · Cited by 827
“…on the cultivation of compassion (Kirby, 2016): Compas-sion Focused Therapy (CFT; Gilbert, 2014), Mind-ful Self-Compassion (MSC; Neff & Germer, 2013 Pace et al., 2009), Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB; Kemeny et al., 2012), and Loving-Kindness (LKM) and Compassion Meditations (CM; e.g.,…”
Hayes, S. C., Villatte, M., Levin, M., & Hildebrandt, M. (2011) · Annual Review of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032210-104449 · Cited by 800
“F or p er so na l u se o nl y. meditation (Pace et al. 2009), and Compassionate Mind Therapy (Gilbert 2009).”
BackgroundInflammation in Fear- and Anxiety-Based Disorders: PTSD, GAD, and Beyond
Michopoulos, V., Powers, A., Gillespie, C. F., Ressler, K. J., & Jovanovic, T. (2017) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/npp.2016.146 · Cited by 786
“…interventions that have been used for the treatment of fear- and anxiety-based disorder, such as community-based educational intervention, exercise, yoga, and mediation, have also been associated with decreases in inflammation (Bower and Irwin, 2016; Pace et al, 2009; Villablanca et al, 2015).”
BackgroundBiological and psychological markers of stress in humans: Focus on the Trier Social Stress Test
Allen, A. P., Kennedy, P. J., Cryan, J. F., Dinan, T. G., & Clarke, G. (2014) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.11.005 · Cited by 734
Lutz, A., Jha, A. P., Dunne, J. D., & Saron, C. D. (2015) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/a0039585 · Cited by 697
“…these results, in a randomized active control (health education) longitudinal study of compassion-based meditation, Pace et al. (Pace et al., 2010; Pace et al., 2009) found decreased IL-6 and cortisol activations after the TSST in the meditation training group, but only for those who practiced…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialMarsland, A. L., Walsh, C., Lockwood, K., & John-Henderson, N. A. (2017) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2017.01.011 · Cited by 691
Brain–Gut Interactions in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Bonaz, B. L., & Bernstein, C. N. (2013) · Gastroenterology · doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2012.10.003 · Cited by 667
“Compassion meditation decreases inflammatory (IL-6) responses to a psychosocial laboratory stressor (157).”
BackgroundHasenkamp, W., Wilson-Mendenhall, C. D., Duncan, E., & Barsalou, L. W. (2012) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.07.008 · Cited by 643
Functional Neural Plasticity and Associated Changes in Positive Affect After Compassion Training
Klimecki, O. M., Leiberg, S., Lamm, C., & Singer, T. (2013) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhs142 · Cited by 634
“2008) and health (Pace et al. 2009), the current data show that responding to potentially distressing situations with compassion benefits the person who experiences it through strengthening positive affect.”
BackgroundResultCompassion training alters altruism and neural responses to suffering.
Weng, H. Y., Fox, A. S., Shackman, A. J., Stodola, D. E., Caldwell, J. Z. K., Olson, M. C., Rogers, G. M., & Davidson, R. J. (2013) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797612469537 · Cited by 602
“…3/21/12; Revision accepted 11/1/12 that compassion training can improve personal wellbeing, including stress-related immune responses (Pace et al., 2009), positive affect (Fredrickson, Cohn, Coffey, Pek, & Finkel, 2008; Hutcherson, Seppala, & Gross, 2008), and psychological and…”
BackgroundPsychotherapeutic benefits of compassion-focused therapy: an early systematic review
Leaviss, J., & Uttley, L. (2015) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291714002141 · Cited by 546
“From a biological perspective, the practice of CM has been shown to reduce stress-linked immune responses (Pace et al. 2009).”
BackgroundPsychological Stress, Inflammation, and Coronary Heart Disease
Wirtz, P. H., & von Känel, R. (2017) · Current Cardiology Reports · doi:10.1007/s11886-017-0919-x · Cited by 439
Is depression an inflammatory disorder?
Raison, C. L., & Miller, A. H. (2011) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-011-0232-0 · Cited by 524
Self-citationDesbordes, G., Gard, T., Hoge, E. A., Hölzel, B. K., Kerr, C., Lazar, S. W., Olendzki, A., & Vago, D. R. (2015) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-013-0269-8 · Cited by 505
“For example, Pace et al. (2009) found a post-hoc association between compassion meditation practice time and decreased levels of interleukin-6, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, although there was no difference between the meditation group and the control group overall.”
BackgroundEnhancing Compassion: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Compassion Cultivation Training Program
Jazaieri, H., Jinpa, T., McGonigal, K. M., Rosenberg, E. L., Finkelstein, J., Simon-Thomas, E. R., Cullen, M., Doty, J. R., Gross, J. J., & Goldin, P. R. (2012) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-012-9373-z · Cited by 546
“There were no significant changes in the strength of association for any of the baseline correlations from pre-to post-CCT (all ps [ .11) and from pre-to-post WL (all ps [ .16) (Table 3).”
BackgroundDesbordes, G., Negi, L. T., Pace, T. W. W., Wallace, B. A., Raison, C. L., & Schwartz, E. L. (2012) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2012.00292 · Cited by 458
Self-citationFoley, P., & Kirschbaum, C. (2010) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.01.010 · Cited by 455
“, 2003) or meditation that also reduces IL-6 responses (Pace et al., 2009).”
Short-term compassion training increases prosocial behavior in a newly developed prosocial game
Leiberg, S., Klimecki, O., & Singer, T. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0017798 · Cited by 442
“Self-benefiting effects of compassion training such as increases in positive mood, life satisfaction, decreased depressive symptoms [21], and less reactivity to psychosocial stress [23] have been reported before.”
BackgroundRohleder, N. (2019) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.02.021 · Cited by 439
Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators
Jacobs, T. L., Epel, E. S., Lin, J., Blackburn, E. H., Wolkowitz, O. M., Bridwell, D. A., Zanesco, A. P., Aichele, S. R., Sahdra, B. K., MacLean, K. A., et al. (2011) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.09.010 · Cited by 432
Imaging the Role of Inflammation in Mood and Anxiety-related Disorders
Felger, J. C. (2017) · Current Neuropharmacology · doi:10.2174/1570159x15666171123201142 · Cited by 447
“Behavioral interventions that reduce stress, such as exercise, yoga or meditation, can affect the HPA and SNS axes as well as the immune system [255], and may also serve as potential treatments for PTSD and related comorbidities.”
BackgroundCompassion interventions: The programmes, the evidence, and implications for research and practice
Kirby, J. N. (2017) · Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice · doi:10.1111/papt.12104 · Cited by 427
“…Mindful Self-Compassion (Neff & Germer, 2013), the Compassion Cultivation Training (Jazaieri et al., 2013), Cognitively Based Compassion Training (Pace et al., 2009), Cultivating Emotional Balance (Kemeny et al., 2012), and Compassion and Loving-Kindness Meditations (e.g., Hoffmann, Grossman, &…”
BackgroundInfluentialRaab, K. (2014) · Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy · doi:10.1080/08854726.2014.913876 · Cited by 395
Mindfulness meditation for younger breast cancer survivors: A randomized controlled trial
Bower, J. E., Crosswell, A. D., Stanton, A. L., Crespi, C. M., Winston, D., Arevalo, J., Ma, J., Cole, S. W., & Ganz, P. A. (2015) · Cancer · doi:10.1002/cncr.29194 · Cited by 390
Self-citationContemplative/emotion training reduces negative emotional behavior and promotes prosocial responses.
Kemeny, M. E., Foltz, C., Cavanagh, J. F., Cullen, M., Giese-Davis, J., Jennings, P., Rosenberg, E. L., Gillath, O., Shaver, P. R., Wallace, B. A., et al. (2012) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/a0026118 · Cited by 391
“…responses to real-world, strongly evocative social contexts, such as those included in the TSST, can be moderated by such interventions (see Pace et al., 2009, for a study that did not yield main effects on biological outcomes in response to this stressor paradigm of a less intensive…”
Mind–body therapies and control of inflammatory biology: A descriptive review
Bower, J. E., & Irwin, M. R. (2016) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2015.06.012 · Cited by 388
“production, there is mixed evidence that MBTs influence cortisol reactivity to acute stress; for example, a study of compassion meditation found no effect on cortisol reactivity to the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST), a standardized psychosocial stressor (Pace et al., 2009), whereas a study of brief mindfulness traini…”
BackgroundInfluentialEffect of kindness-based meditation on health and well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Galante, J., Galante, I., Bekkers, M.-J., & Gallacher, J. (2014) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0037249 · Cited by 380
“(Pace et al., 2009a; Lipizzi, 2011) 89 Medically healthy undergraduate students 18.5 (SD !”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialEffects of Meditation Experience on Functional Connectivity of Distributed Brain Networks
Hasenkamp, W., & Barsalou, L. W. (2012) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2012.00038 · Cited by 367
Compassion: From Its Evolution to a Psychotherapy
Gilbert, P. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.586161 · Cited by 365
Bornemann, B., Herbert, B. M., Mehling, W. E., & Singer, T. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01504 · Cited by 349
“…lifetime practice hours and outcome variables such as interospective abilities (Fox et al., 2012), and brain structure (Lazar et al., 2005), and some longitudinal training studies also demonstrate dose-dependent effects (e.g., Carmody and Baer, 2008; Pace et al., 2009; Rosenzweig et al., 2010).”
Luberto, C. M., Shinday, N., Song, R., Philpotts, L. L., Park, E. R., Fricchione, G. L., & Yeh, G. Y. (2018) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-017-0841-8 · Cited by 346
“These findings are similar to previous studies of meditation for general health outcomes (Marchand 2014; Pace et al. 2009) and non-RCTs of meditation for prosocial outcomes (Klimecki et al. 2012, 2014; Leiberg et al. 2011) and further support a neural and physiological basis for meditation’s…”
InfluentialThe validation of an active control intervention for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
MacCoon, D. G., Imel, Z. E., Rosenkranz, M. A., Sheftel, J. G., Weng, H. Y., Sullivan, J. C., Bonus, K. A., Stoney, C. M., Salomons, T. V., Davidson, R. J., et al. (2012) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2011.10.011 · Cited by 335
“2 A recent study by Raison and colleagues (Pace et al., 2008) also uses an active”
BackgroundJazaieri, H., McGonigal, K. M., Jinpa, T., Doty, J. R., Gross, J. J., & Goldin, P. R. (2013) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/s11031-013-9368-z · Cited by 385
“Initial studies of CBCT have demonstrated improved immune response to psychosocial stressors in healthy adults (Pace et al. 2009).”
Levine, G. N., Lange, R. A., Bairey‐Merz, C. N., Davidson, R. J., Jamerson, K., Mehta, P. K., Michos, E. D., Norris, K., Ray, I. B., Saban, K. L., et al. (2017) · Journal of the American Heart Association · doi:10.1161/jaha.117.002218 · Cited by 330
Stress, Inflammation, and Yoga Practice
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Christian, L., Preston, H., Houts, C. R., Malarkey, W. B., Emery, C. F., & Glaser, R. (2010) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0b013e3181cb9377 · Cited by 327
Mindfulness Research Update: 2008
Greeson, J. M. (2009) · Complementary health practice review · doi:10.1177/1533210108329862 · Cited by 373
“Finally, a third RCT found that adults who reported home practice times above the median during a 6-week compassion meditation training program exhibited significantly lower stress-induced levels of negative emotion and inflammation (interleukin-6) post-intervention compared to individuals below the home practice medi…”
BackgroundRosenkranz, M. A., Davidson, R. J., MacCoon, D. G., Sheridan, J. F., Kalin, N. H., & Lutz, A. (2013) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2012.10.013 · Cited by 307
“…and social-evaluative threat have been reliably shown to evoke increases in measures of physiological stress and peripheral inflammation (Dickerson and Kemeny, 2004; Dickerson et al., 2009; Gruenewald et al., 2004; Kirschbaum et al., 1993; Pace et al., 2009; Rohleder et al., 2006).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialAn Introduction to Compassion Focused Therapy in Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Gilbert, P. (2010) · International Journal of Cognitive Therapy · doi:10.1521/ijct.2010.3.2.97 · Cited by 399
Arch, J. J., Brown, K. W., Dean, D. J., Landy, L. N., Brown, K. D., & Laudenslager, M. L. (2014) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.12.018 · Cited by 290
“By focusing on training in self-compassion rather than the range of self-and other-compassion, concentration, and mindfulness practices taught in the Pace et al. (2009) study, our study more clearly links the self-compassion dimension of compassion training to adaptive social threat responding.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialThe Effects of Mind-Body Therapies on the Immune System: Meta-Analysis
Morgan, N., Irwin, M. R., Chung, M., & Wang, C. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0100903 · Cited by 294
“IL-6 Chen 2006 (QG) [69], Creswell 2012 (Med) [37], Irwin 2012; Irwin 2007 (TC) [60,61], Janelsins 2011[63], Sprod 2012 (TC) [65], Malarkey 2013 (Med) [51], McCain 2008 (TC) [64], Oken 2010 (Med) [43], Pace 2009 (Med) [44], Pullen 2008 (Yoga) [54], Pullen 2010 (Yoga) [55], Zautra 2008 (Med) [49] 6 to16 594 2 High; 2 M…”
BackgroundRole of interleukin-6 in stress, sleep, and fatigue
Rohleder, N., Aringer, M., & Boentert, M. (2012) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06634.x · Cited by 289
Hidden wounds? inflammatory links between childhood trauma and psychopathology
Danese, A., & Baldwin, J. R. (2017) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010416-044208 · Cited by 286
“In addition to strategies directly targeting the immune system, psychosocial interventions might be used to reduce inflammation in traumatized children (Pace et al. 2009) and to decrease psychosocial adversity more generally (Miller et al.”
BackgroundBritton, W. B., Shahar, B., Szepsenwol, O., & Jacobs, W. J. (2012) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2011.08.006 · Cited by 268
“…Leen-Feldner, sed Cognitive Therapy Improves Emotional Reactivity to Social (2011), 10.1016/j.beth.2011.08.006 2007; Ortner, Kilner, & Zelazo, 2007; Pace et al., 2009; Proulx, 2008; Raes et al., 2009; Tang et al., 2007; Taylor et al., 2011; Vujanovic, Zvolensky, Bernstein, Feldner, & McLeish,…”
BackgroundInfluentialThe animal and human neuroendocrinology of social cognition, motivation and behavior
McCall, C., & Singer, T. (2012) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.3084 · Cited by 273
Shonin, E., Van Gordon, W., Compare, A., Zangeneh, M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2015) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-014-0368-1 · Cited by 268
“The first eligible RCT assessed the effects of Cognitivebased Compassion Training (CBCT) on stress reactivity in 89 healthy adults (aged 17–19 years; mean age=18.5 years, SD= 0.62 years) (Pace et al. 2009).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialPTSD is associated with an excess of inflammatory immune activities
Gill, J. M., Saligan, L., Woods, S., & Page, G. (2009) · Perspectives in Psychiatric Care · doi:10.1111/j.1744-6163.2009.00229.x · Cited by 271
The Trier Social Stress Test protocol for inducing psychological stress.
Birkett, M. (2011) · Journal of Visualized Experiments · doi:10.3791/3238 · Cited by 285
Black, D. S., Cole, S. W., Irwin, M. R., Breen, E., St. Cyr, N. M., Nazarian, N., Khalsa, D. S., & Lavretsky, H. (2013) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.06.011 · Cited by 249
“…indicate that dementia caregivers who practice meditation show improvement in mental health indices such as depression and anxiety (Waelde et al., 2004; Van Puymbroeck et al., 2007; Pace et al., 2009), which are indices associated with inflammatory markers such as IL-6 (Irwin and Olmstead, 2011).”
BackgroundSelf-citationExplorations into the nature and function of compassion
Gilbert, P. (2019) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.12.002 · Cited by 250
The Spectrum of Achalasia: Lessons From Studies of Pathophysiology and High-Resolution Manometry
Kahrilas, P. J., & Boeckxstaens, G. E. (2013) · Gastroenterology · doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2013.08.038 · Cited by 236
Sabel, B. A., Wang, J., Cárdenas‐Morales, L., Faiq, M. A., & Heim, C. C. (2018) · The EPMA Journal · doi:10.1007/s13167-018-0136-8 · Cited by 242
Compassion meditation enhances empathic accuracy and related neural activity
Mascaro, J. S., Rilling, J. K., Tenzin Negi, L., & Raison, C. L. (2013) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nss095 · Cited by 223
“In addition, OT administration impacts responses to psychosocial stress (TSST) in ways similar to changes observed with CBCT (Pace et al., 2009).”
MethodResultSelf-citationThe emerging role of Buddhism in clinical psychology: Toward effective integration.
Shonin, E., Gordon, W. V., & Griffiths, M. D. (2014) · Psychology of Religion and Spirituality · doi:10.1037/a0035859 · Cited by 253
“Of notable interest is an intervention known as cognitively based compassion therapy (CBCT; Pace et al., 2009).”
BackgroundInfluentialA resilience framework for promoting stable remission from depression
Waugh, C. E., & Koster, E. H. W. (2015) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2014.05.004 · Cited by 202
“For example, investigators found that the more people practiced compassion meditation over a 6-week period the less was their stress-induced IL-6 responsivity (involved in the immune response) as well as self-reported stress reactivity (Pace et al., 2009).”
BackgroundMatos, M., Duarte, C., Duarte, J., Pinto‐Gouveia, J., Petrocchi, N., Basran, J. K., & Gilbert, P. (2017) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-017-0745-7 · Cited by 246
Lutz, A., Greischar, L. L., Perlman, D. M., & Davidson, R. J. (2009) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.04.081 · Cited by 199
“Traditional accounts of the compassion practice suggest that, even if strong personal distress can occur during compassion meditation, this distress is alleviated by two factors: 1) cultivating an equanimity stance toward suffering, in particular one's own suffering, such that one is able to bring suffering to mind wi…”
InfluentialBornemann, B., & Singer, T. (2017) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.12790 · Cited by 204
Pinto‐Gouveia, J., Duarte, C., Matos, M., & Fráguas, S. (2013) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.1838 · Cited by 198
Yadav, R. K., Magan, D., Mehta, N., Sharma, R., & Mahapatra, S. C. (2012) · The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine · doi:10.1089/acm.2011.0265 · Cited by 206
“, 6 weeks).(36) Another study showed that exercise such as running causes erratic but significant increase in both b-endorphin and corticotropin-releasing hormone, while meditation increases only the latter.”
Taylor, C., Harrison, J., Haimovitz, K., Oberle, E., Thomson, K., Schonert-Reichl, K., & Roeser, R. W. (2016) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-015-0425-4 · Cited by 186
Self-compassion as a predictor of interleukin-6 response to acute psychosocial stress
Breines, J. G., Thoma, M. V., Gianferante, D., Hanlin, L., Chen, X., & Rohleder, N. (2014) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2013.11.006 · Cited by 181
“Meditation that focuses on increasing compassion for others has also been shown to reduce stress-inducted inflammation (Pace et al., 2009).”
Does Self-Compassion Protect Adolescents from Stress?
Bluth, K., Roberson, P. N. E., Gaylord, S. A., Faurot, K. R., Grewen, K., Arzon, S., & Girdler, S. S. (2015) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-015-0307-3 · Cited by 228
“Median split approach has been used in similar studies to examine difference between groups high and low in a specific variable (Campbell et al. 2012; Pace et al. 2009, 2010).”
MethodZeller, M., Yuval, K., Nitzan-Assayag, Y., & Bernstein, A. (2015) · Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10802-014-9937-y · Cited by 185
Who Benefits from Training in Self-Compassionate Self-Regulation? A Study of Smoking Reduction
Kelly, A. C., Zuroff, D. C., Foa, C. L., & Gilbert, P. (2010) · Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1521/jscp.2010.29.7.727 · Cited by 205
“Neuroscientists have found that individuals who are able to visualize compassionate images can derive considerable physiological and psychological benefits (Lutz, Brefczynski-Lewis, Johnstone, & Davidson, 2008; Pace et al., 2009).”
BackgroundSleep disturbance, inflammation and depression risk in cancer survivors
Irwin, M. R., Olmstead, R. E., Ganz, P. A., & Haque, R. (2013) · Brain Behavior and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2012.05.002 · Cited by 173
“…been found to modulate inflammatory signaling in the innate immune system including aerobic exercise (Nicklas et al., 2008), compassion meditation (Pace et al., 2009) and Tai Chi (Irwin and Olmstead, 2011; Lavretsky et al., 2011) in association in improvements in sleep disturbance, for example.”
BackgroundCognitive-Based Compassion Training: A Promising Prevention Strategy for At-Risk Adolescents
Reddy, S. D., Negi, L. T., Dodson‐Lavelle, B., Silva, B. O.-D., Pace, T. W. W., Cole, S. P., Raison, C. L., & Craighead, L. W. (2012) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-012-9571-7 · Cited by 173
“While the mindfulness components incorporated into CBCT may provide an immediate and effective stress management and coping technique, the physiological benefits associated with practices specific to CBCT may confer additional health-relevant benefits (Pace et al. 2009; Pace et al. 2010).”
BackgroundSelf-citationDiffering pathways between religiousness, spirituality, and health: A self-regulation perspective.
Aldwin, C. M., Park, C. L., Jeong, Y.-J., & Nath, R. (2014) · Psychology of Religion and Spirituality · doi:10.1037/a0034416 · Cited by 171
Lilienfeld, S. O., Ritschel, L. A., Lynn, S. J., Cautin, R. L., & Latzman, R. D. (2014) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691614535216 · Cited by 191
“Similarly, evidence suggests that clients who practice meditation regularly in studies of compassion-based meditation training exhibit better outcomes than clients who do not (Pace et al., 2009).”
BackgroundPsychological interventions to foster resilience in healthcare students
Kunzler, A. M., Helmreich, I., König, J., Chmitorz, A., Wessa, M., Binder, H., & Lieb, K. (2020) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd013684 · Cited by 177
Tolahunase, M., Sagar, R., & Dada, R. (2017) · Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity · doi:10.1155/2017/7928981 · Cited by 172
“The practice of Yoga and physical exercise are different entities, the former results in energy conservation with economy of energy expenditure for mental and physical benefits, and the later results in energy expendituremore for physical exertions andmetabolic needs, as is evident from a study which showed exercise c…”
BackgroundNeuroinflammation in suicide: Toward a comprehensive model
Courtet, P., Giner, L., Seneque, M., Guillaume, S., Olie, E., & Ducasse, D. (2016) · The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.3109/15622975.2015.1054879 · Cited by 146
“Mindfulness decreases infl ammatory responses to a psychosocial laboratory stressor (Pace et al. 2009).”
BackgroundEngert, V., Kok, B. E., Papassotiriou, I., Chrousos, G. P., & Singer, T. (2017) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.1700495 · Cited by 151
Mindfulness and Other Buddhist-Derived Interventions in Correctional Settings: A Systematic Review
Shonin, E., Van Gordon, W., Slade, K., & Griffiths, M. D. (2013) · Aggression and Violent Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.avb.2013.01.002 · Cited by 147
“For example, in an RCT of a six-week long compassion meditation program (based on the Tibetan Buddhist ‘Mind Training’ technique), Pace et al (2009) demonstrated that meditators (healthy adults) experienced significant reductions in adverse psychosomatic responses to psychosocial stress.”
MethodCash, E., Salmon, P., Weissbecker, I., Rebholz, W. N., Bayley-Veloso, R., Zimmaro, L. A., Floyd, A., Dedert, E., & Sephton, S. E. (2015) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12160-014-9665-0 · Cited by 146
“Practice time effects may also extend to physiological responses, including inflammatory response to laboratory stress (66).”
BackgroundThe Theoretical and Empirical Basis for Meditation as an Intervention for PTSD
Lang, A. J., Strauss, J. L., Bomyea, J. A., Bormann, J. E., Hickman, S. D., Good, R. C., & Essex, M. (2012) · Behavior Modification · doi:10.1177/0145445512441200 · Cited by 161
“Pace et al. (2009) recruited 61 college students into a study comparing compassion meditation and health education discussion.”
BackgroundPsychological therapies for children and adolescents exposed to trauma
Gillies, D., Maiocchi, L., Bhandari, A. P., Taylor, F., Gray, C., & O'Brien, L. (2016) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd012371 · Cited by 143
Dunlop, B. W., Binder, E. B., Cubells, J. F., Goodman, M. M., Kelley, M. E., Kinkead, B., Kutner, M., Nemeroff, C. B., Newport, D. J., Owens, M. J., et al. (2012) · Trials · doi:10.1186/1745-6215-13-106 · Cited by 136
“The mean inter- and intra-assay coefficients of variation for control samples in this assay are reliably 10% or less [116].”
Self-citationEmotion regulation and the salience network: a hypothetical integrative model of fibromyalgia
Pinto, A. M., Geenen, R., Wager, T. D., Lumley, M. A., Häuser, W., Kosek, E., Ablin, J. N., Amris, K., Branco, J., Buskila, D., et al. (2022) · Nature Reviews Rheumatology · doi:10.1038/s41584-022-00873-6 · Cited by 161
Psychosocial stressors and telomere length: A current review of the science
Rentscher, K. E., Carroll, J. E., & Mitchell, C. (2020) · Annual Review of Public Health · doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040119-094239 · Cited by 138
Jaremka, L. M., Lindgren, M. E., & Kiecolt‐Glaser, J. K. (2013) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1002/da.22078 · Cited by 148
“For instance, a compassion meditation intervention reduced emotional distress and IL-6 for people who practiced more frequently than less frequently.[131] In addition, the regular practice of yoga was related to lower baseline and stress-induced inflammation.”
BackgroundPace, T. W. W., Negi, L. T., Dodson‐Lavelle, B., Silva, B. O.-D., Reddy, S. D., Cole, S. P., Danese, A., Craighead, L. W., & Raison, C. L. (2012) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.05.019 · Cited by 137
“…increased empathy for oneself and others would be expected to enhance prosocial behavior in ways likely to reduce psychosocial stress, our group initially developed CBCT as a behavioral intervention to reduce deleterious behavioral and physiological stress responses (Pace et al., 2009, 2010).”
InfluentialSelf-citationJanusek, L. W., Tell, D., Gaylord-Harden, N., & Mathews, H. L. (2017) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2016.10.006 · Cited by 130
Can’t or Won’t? Immunometabolic Constraints on Dopaminergic Drive
Treadway, M. T., Cooper, J. A., & Miller, A. H. (2019) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2019.03.003 · Cited by 141
“Mediterranean) [93, 94], as well as meditation and yoga [95, 96], have been shown to reduce peripheral inflammatory markers.”
BackgroundThe Role of Compassion in Altruistic Helping and Punishment Behavior
Weng, H. Y., Fox, A. S., Hessenthaler, H. C., Stodola, D. E., & Davidson, R. J. (2015) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0143794 · Cited by 132
Religiosity/Spirituality and Physiological Markers of Health
Shattuck, E. C., & Muehlenbein, M. P. (2018) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi:10.1007/s10943-018-0663-6 · Cited by 149
Svendsen, J. L., Osnes, B., Binder, P.-E., Dundas, I., Visted, E., Nordby, H., Schanche, E., & Sørensen, L. (2016) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0549-1 · Cited by 129
“2008), and previous studies showing higher induced (Pace et al. 2009) and trait self-compassion (Breines et al.”
BackgroundResultDorjee, D. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01788 · Cited by 123
“While research on mindfulness dominates the field, increasing numbers of studies investigate compassion (e.g., Pace et al., 2009; Desbordes et al., 2012), visualizationbased meditation practices (e.g., Kozhevnikov et al., 2009), equanimity (e.g., Desbordes et al., 2014), etc.; and there are also…”
Judge, L., Cleghorn, A., McEwan, K., & Gilbert, P. (2012) · International Journal of Cognitive Therapy · doi:10.1521/ijct.2012.5.4.420 · Cited by 122
Promoting Altruism Through Meditation: An 8-Week Randomized Controlled Pilot Study
Wallmark, E., Safarzadeh, K., Daukantaitė, D., & Maddux, R. E. (2013) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-012-0115-4 · Cited by 118
“Pace et al. (2009), however, examined the effects of compassion meditation drawn from the practice of Lojong, but only in the context of altered stress responses and not related empathy or altruism.”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Pace, T. W. W., Negi, L. T., Adame, D. D., Cole, S. P., Sivilli, T. I., Brown, T. D., Issa, M. J., & Raison, C. L.
- Affiliations
- Emory University (US)
- Weill Cornell Medicine (US)
- Corresponding author
- Raison, Charles L.
- Venue
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2009-01
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 87-98
- ISSN
- 0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2695992
- OpenAlex
- W2101119621
- Cited by
- 748
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 78 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 58 · 2019: 50 · 2018: 43 · 2017: 55 · 2016: 43 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 58 · 2013: 45 · 2012: 57
- FWCI
- 24.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum
- National Institutes of Health (UL1TR000454)
- National Institute of Mental Health (K23MH064619)
- National Center for Research Resources (UL1RR025008, M01RR000039, M01-RR-0039)
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Keywords
- compassion meditation, psychosocial stress, stress reactivity, Trier Social Stress Test, interleukin-6, cortisol, innate immunity, neuroendocrine response
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Empathy, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Immunity, Innate, Male, Stress, Physiological, Stress, Psychological, Time Factors, Interleukin-6, Meditation, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review