Cited by 640Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsPain Management and Placebo EffectPain Mechanisms and Treatments

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 64 of the 64 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Brain Mechanisms Supporting the Modulation of Pain by Mindfulness Meditation

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Abstract

The subjective experience of one's environment is constructed by interactions among sensory, cognitive, and affective processes. For centuries, meditation has been thought to influence such processes by enabling a nonevaluative representation of sensory events. To better understand how meditation influences the sensory experience, we used arterial spin labeling functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess the neural mechanisms by which mindfulness meditation influences pain in healthy human participants. After 4 d of mindfulness meditation training, meditating in the presence of noxious stimulation significantly reduced pain unpleasantness by 57% and pain intensity ratings by 40% when compared to rest. A two-factor repeated-measures ANOVA was used to identify interactions between meditation and pain-related brain activation. Meditation reduced pain-related activation of the contralateral primary somatosensory cortex. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify brain regions associated with individual differences in the magnitude of meditation-related pain reductions. Meditation-induced reductions in pain intensity ratings were associated with increased activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula, areas involved in the cognitive regulation of nociceptive processing. Reductions in pain unpleasantness ratings were associated with orbitofrontal cortex activation, an area implicated in reframing the contextual evaluation of sensory events. Moreover, reductions in pain unpleasantness also were associated with thalamic deactivation, which may reflect a limbic gating mechanism involved in modifying interactions between afferent input and executive-order brain areas. Together, these data indicate that meditation engages multiple brain mechanisms that alter the construction of the subjectively available pain experience from afferent information.

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Crossref · 10.1523/jneurosci.5791-10.2011

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Metadata

Authors
Zeidan, F., Martucci, K. T., Kraft, R. A., Gordon, N. S., McHaffie, J. G., & Coghill, R. C.
Affiliations
  • Marquette University (US)
  • Wake Forest University Health Sciences (US)
Corresponding author
Zeidan, Fadel
Venue
The Journal of Neuroscience
Published
2011-04-06
Volume
31
Issue
14
Pages
5540-5548
ISSN
  • 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2401
OpenAlex
W2151568754
Cited by
640
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 31 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 40 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 42 · 2019: 46 · 2018: 47 · 2017: 44 · 2016: 41 · 2015: 50 · 2014: 55 · 2013: 35 · 2012: 37
FWCI
47.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • e-Publications@Marquette (Marquette University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Wake Forest University
  • Mind and Life Institute
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NS-39426, R01NS039426)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
Keywords
mindfulness meditation, pain modulation, pain unpleasantness, pain intensity, primary somatosensory cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, anterior insula, orbitofrontal cortex, thalamus, arterial spin labeling, individual differences, meditation training
MeSH terms
Adult, Analysis of Variance, Attention, Brain, Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Individuality, Functional Laterality, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Oxygen, Pain, Pain Measurement, Physical Stimulation, Psychophysics, Regression Analysis, Pain Threshold, Meditation, Young Adult, Pain Management

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