Meditative analgesia: the current state of the field
Abstract
Since the first demonstrations that mindfulness‐based therapies could have a positive influence on chronic pain patients, numerous studies have been conducted with healthy individuals in an attempt to understand meditative analgesia. This review focuses explicitly on experimental pain studies of meditation and attempts to draw preliminary conclusions based on the work completed in this new field over the past 6 years. Dividing meditative practices into the broad categories of focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM) techniques allowed several patterns to emerge. The majority of evidence for FA practices suggests they are not particularly effective in reducing pain. OM, on the other hand, seems to influence both sensory and affective pain ratings depending on the tradition or on whether the practitioners were meditating. The neural pattern underlying pain modulation during OM suggests meditators actively focus on the noxious stimulation while inhibiting other mental processes, consistent with descriptions of mindfulness. A preliminary model is presented for explaining the influence of mindfulness practice on pain. Finally, the potential analgesic effect of the currently unexplored technique of compassion meditation is discussed.
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Buddhist-derived meditation practices inform treatment programs such as mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), which are being applied towards the alleviation of a wide range of ailments, including stress, addiction, chronic pain, mood disorders, psychiatric disorders, and medical conditions.
“Buddhist-derived meditation practices inform treatment programs such as “mindfulness-based interventions” (MBIs), which are being applied towards the alleviation of a wide range of ailments, including stress [2], addiction [3], chronic pain [4], mood disorders [5], psychiatric disorders [6], and medical conditions [7].”
From The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists (2017) · cites this paper as [4]
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“Indian Journal of Palliative Care ¦ Volume 23 ¦ Issue 2 ¦ April-June 2017 181 type A injection, trigger point injections, pharmacological methods, and according to a recent report even hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be used.[16-20] Pharmacological treatment methods include diclofenac patch, tramadol, tropisetron, opioi…”
BackgroundNeural Buddhism and Christian mindfulness in medicine
Kopel, J. J., & Habermas, G. R. (2019) · Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings · doi:10.1080/08998280.2019.1581525 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Scientific Literacy as a Foundational Competency for Teachers of Mindfulness-based Interventions
Britton, W. B. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-30100-6_5 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“For example, while studies of experienced meditators have found positive effects on experimentally induced pain intensity (Grant, 2014), MBIs have not been found to improve pain ratings (Chiesa & Serretti, 2011; Rajguru et al., 2014).”
BackgroundCognitive modulation of pain and predictive coding
Pagnoni, G., & Porro, C. A. (2014) · Physics of Life Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.plrev.2014.05.006 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“, amygdala, hippocampus, orbitofrontal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) [16–19].”
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“These cognitive-emotional elaborations appear to be a habitual, spontaneous response to a painful sensation, rather than an intrinsic aspect of nociception itself (Grant, 2014).”
BackgroundInfluentialGarcía‐Martín, E., GOPEGUI, E. R. D., Otín, S., Blasco‐Martinez, A., Larrosa, J. M., Polo, V., Pablo, L. E., Demarzo, M., & García‐Campayo, J. (2016) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0537-5 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“The neural pattern underlying pain modulation during OM suggests meditators actively focus on the noxious stimulation while inhibiting other mental processes, consistent with descriptions of mindfulness (Grant 2014).”
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Gard, T. (2014) · Physics of Life Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.plrev.2014.07.003 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Pain-related encephalic regions influenced by yoga meditation: An integrative review
Jurisic, P., Salm, D. C., Vieira, C., Cidral‐Filho, F. J., Mazzardo‐Martins, L., & Martins, D. F. (2018) · Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice · doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2018.04.001 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Pain in the Civilian and Military Workplace
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Gularte, L. (2023) · Synthese · doi:10.1007/s11229-023-04405-x · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Pain Management by Meditation: A Naturopathy Approach
Wiwanitkit, V. (2016) · Journal of Pain Management & Medicine · doi:10.35248/2684-1320.16.2.e102 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Is Aging a Disease? Mental Health Issues and Approaches for Elders and Caregivers
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Probleme der Opioidanalgetika-Therapie aus psychiatrischer Sicht
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Britton, W. B., & Lindahl, J. R. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/obo/9780199828340-0169 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Hill, C. S. (2022) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780192867766.003.0001 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Toward an integrative view of human pain and suffering
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Pain: A patient with painful diabetic neuropathy and post herpetic neuralgia: A review report
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“A multidisciplinary approach that combines therapies however can be a very effective way to provide relief from neuropathic pain [61-75].”
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Kushner, K. (2017) · Mindfulness in behavioral health · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-54595-0_14 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Pain: A patient with painful diabetic neuropathy and post herpetic neuralgia: A review report
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Spirituality and Happiness: A Neuroscientific Perspective
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The Effects of a Brief Mindfulness-Based Meditation Intervention on Chronic Pain
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Die Rolle des Körpers im Rahmen achtsamkeitsbasierter Ansätze
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ANALGESIC EFFECTS OF EEG ALPHA-WAVE ENTRAINMENT ON ACUTE AND CHRONIC PAIN
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Neuroscientific Changes of Chronic Neuropathic Pain: A Brief Comment on Evidence-Based Practice
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“Mindfulness would be a psychoeducation therapeutic approach focused on decreasing the perception of pain [40] and the emotional process of pain [41].”
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Immobilization and Agency: Reflections on Pain Management in Catherine Bush’s Novel Claire’s Head
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A Very Short Tour of the Mind-Wandering Brain
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Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Medical Conditions
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The Epistemic Role of Perception
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- Authors
- Grant, J. A.
- Affiliations
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Grant, Joshua A.
- ORCID
- Grant, Joshua A.
- Venue
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2013-11-08
- Volume
- 1307
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 55-63
- ISSN
- 0077-8923 (ISSN-L)
- 1749-6632
- OpenAlex
- W1519724488
- Cited by
- 78
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 7
- FWCI
- 1.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
- Keywords
- mindfulness, meditation, focused attention meditation, open monitoring meditation, experimental pain, pain modulation, sensory pain, affective pain, compassion meditation, neural mechanisms of pain
- MeSH terms
- Analgesia, Attention, Brain, Brain Mapping, Buddhism, Cognition, Empathy, Humans, Pain, Pain Measurement, Meditation, Pain Management, Mindfulness
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