Cited by 522Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsPsychosomatic Disorders and Their TreatmentsPsychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

Minding one’s emotions: Mindfulness training alters the neural expression of sadness.

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Farb, Norman A. S., Anderson, Adam K., Mayberg, Helen, Bean, Jim, McKeon, Deborah, Segal, Zindel V.·2010·Emotion

Abstract

Recovery from emotional challenge and increased tolerance of negative affect are both hallmarks of mental health. Mindfulness training (MT) has been shown to facilitate these outcomes, yet little is known about its mechanisms of action. The present study employed functional MRI (fMRI) to compare neural reactivity to sadness provocation in participants completing 8 weeks of MT and waitlisted controls. Sadness resulted in widespread recruitment of regions associated with self-referential processes along the cortical midline. Despite equivalent self-reported sadness, MT participants demonstrated a distinct neural response, with greater right-lateralized recruitment, including visceral and somatosensory areas associated with body sensation. The greater somatic recruitment observed in the MT group during evoked sadness was associated with decreased depression scores. Restoring balance between affective and sensory neural networks-supporting conceptual and body based representations of emotion-could be one path through which mindfulness reduces vulnerability to dysphoric reactivity.

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Crossref · 10.1037/a0017151

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  • Recent research suggests that MT attenuates activation in the medial prefrontal cortex, which instantiates self-referential linguistic processing during negative affective experience, while enhancing activation in the insula, a region subserving interoception.

    “Recent research suggests that MT attenuates activation in brain areas (i.e., medial prefrontal cortex) that instantiate self-referential, linguistic processing during negative affective experience while enhancing activation in brain regions subserving interoception (i.e., insula) (Farb et al., 2010).”

    From Therapeutic mechanisms of a mindfulness-based treatment for IBS: effects on visceral sensitivity, catastrophizing, and affective processing of pain sensations. (2012) · cites this paper as Farb et al., 2010

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  • This pattern of activation suggests that MT promotes interoceptive recovery from emotional distress, a refocusing from affective to viscerosensory aspects of a distressing experience that allows the emotion to return to baseline rather than being perpetuated through rumination.

    “This pattern of activation suggests that MT promotes interoceptive recovery from emotional distress, that is, a refocusing from the affective to viscerosensory aspects of a distressing experience that allows for the emotion to follow its natural time course and return to baseline, rather than being perpetuated through rumination (Farb et al., 2010).”

    From Therapeutic mechanisms of a mindfulness-based treatment for IBS: effects on visceral sensitivity, catastrophizing, and affective processing of pain sensations. (2012) · cites this paper as Farb et al., 2010

    Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

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  • Mindfully engaging attention toward gastrointestinal symptoms may objectify visceral sensations as innocuous sensory data rather than as an emotionally salient threat to physical wellbeing.

    “Mindfully engaging attention toward gastrointestinal symptoms may objectify visceral sensations as innocuous sensory data rather than as an emotionally salient threat to physical wellbeing (Farb et al., 2010).”

    From Therapeutic mechanisms of a mindfulness-based treatment for IBS: effects on visceral sensitivity, catastrophizing, and affective processing of pain sensations. (2012) · cites this paper as Farb et al., 2010

    The Discussion says mindfulness may shift attention toward less-valenced visceral information and describes emotions being viewed as innocuous sensory information rather than a threat to the self. The study concerns responses to sadness, however; it does not establish this mechanism for gastrointestinal symptoms or threats to physical wellbeing. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • Dysphoric mood induction has been linked to both activation of the prefrontal cortex and deactivation of the right middle insula.

    “Dysphoric mood induction has been linked to both activation of the PFC and deactivation of the right middle insula (Farb et al., 2010)”

    From Static and treatment-responsive brain biomarkers of depression relapse vulnerability following prophylactic psychotherapy: Evidence from a randomized control trial (2022) · cites this paper as Farb et al., 2010

    The Results section, “Neural Correlates of Sadness Provocation” (page unavailable), reports prefrontal activation and deactivation peaking in the right insula during sadness provocation. It does not identify the deactivated region as the right middle insula; it also reports deactivation in some prefrontal regions. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Greater numbers of past episodes and concurrent residual symptoms were each linked with greater deactivation of the somatosensory cortex and insula.

    “Greater numbers of past episodes and concurrent residual symptoms were each linked with greater deactivation of the somatosensory cortex and insula, replicating prior findings (Farb et al., 2010).”

    From Static and treatment-responsive brain biomarkers of depression relapse vulnerability following prophylactic psychotherapy: Evidence from a randomized control trial (2022) · cites this paper as Farb et al., 2010

    The Results (Effects of MT on the Neural Correlates of Sadness Provocation; page unavailable) link higher BDI depressive-symptom scores to greater right-insula deactivation. They do not report a link with the number of past episodes or a symptom–deactivation link in the somatosensory cortex; the study used a mixed community sample, so its BDI scores are not identified as residual symptoms. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
Farb, N. A. S., Anderson, A. K., Mayberg, H., Bean, J., McKeon, D., & Segal, Z. V.
Affiliations
  • University of Toronto (CA)
  • Emory University (US)
  • St Joseph's Health Centre (CA)
  • Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CA)
Venue
Emotion
Published
2010-02
Volume
10
Issue
1
Pages
25-33
ISSN
  • 1528-3542 (ISSN-L)
  • 1931-1516
OpenAlex
W2106277531
Cited by
521
References
37
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 31 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 42 · 2015: 55 · 2014: 34 · 2013: 49 · 2012: 37
FWCI
47.31
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Emotion (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (MH66992)
  • Ontario Mental Health Foundation
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  • Advanced Neuromodulation Systems
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
Keywords
mindfulness training, sadness, self-referential processing, somatosensory cortex, laterality, depression, emotion regulation, bodily sensations
MeSH terms
Anxiety, Bereavement, Brain, Depression, Emotions, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Meditation

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