Mindfulness meditation modulates reward prediction errors in a passive conditioning task
Open accessAbstract
Reinforcement learning models have demonstrated that phasic activity of dopamine neurons during reward expectation encodes information about the predictability of reward and cues that predict reward. Self-control strategies such as those practiced in mindfulness-based approaches is claimed to reduce negative and positive reactions to stimuli suggesting the hypothesis that such training may influence basic reward processing. Using a passive conditioning task and fMRI in a group of experienced mindfulness meditators and age-matched controls, we tested the hypothesis that mindfulness meditation influence reward and reward prediction error (PE) signals. We found diminished positive and negative PE-related blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses in the putamen in meditators compared with controls. In the meditator group this decrease in striatal BOLD responses to reward PE was paralleled by increased activity in posterior insula, a primary interoceptive region. Critically, responses in the putamen during early trials of the conditioning procedure (run 1) were elevated in both meditators and controls. Overall, these results provide evidence that experienced mindfulness meditators are able to attenuate reward prediction signals to valenced stimuli, which may be related to interoceptive processes encoded in the posterior insula.
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Mindfulness enhances awareness of interoceptive signals and facilitates accurate detection of prediction errors, contributing to more accurate predictive models.
“Mindfulness enhances awareness of interoceptive signals and facilitates the accurate detection of prediction errors, and ultimately contributes to the development of more accurate predictive models that more closely align with reality (Kirk and Montague, 2015; Kirk et al., 2019).”
From Listen to your inner body: embodied emotions in predictive neuroscience and traditional East Asian medicine (2026) · cites this paper as Kirk and Montague, 2015
The Introduction says mindfulness training enhances interoceptive awareness, and the Discussion links meditators’ posterior-insula activity to possible interoceptive awareness. But the Neuroimaging Results report reduced reward-prediction-error responses in meditators; the paper does not show more accurate detection of prediction errors or the development of predictive models that better match reality. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMindfulness meditation increases activation of the posterior insula and modulates prediction-error signaling, suggesting that mindfulness training may support improved emotional regulation.
“Mindfulness meditation increases activation of the posterior insula, a region associated with interoceptive processing, and modulates prediction-error signaling, suggesting that mindfulness training may support improved emotional regulation (Kirk and Montague, 2015; Kirk et al., 2019).”
From Listen to your inner body: embodied emotions in predictive neuroscience and traditional East Asian medicine (2026) · cites this paper as Kirk and Montague, 2015
The Neuroimaging Results report greater right posterior-insula activity in meditators than controls, and the Discussion reports dampened reward prediction-error signaling and proposes a possible link to emotion regulation. But the study was cross-sectional: it does not establish that meditation training caused the increased activity or improved emotional regulation. Page numbers were not provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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Interoception, contemplative practice, and health
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“EMs were found to be less prone to positive and negative PE signals in the putamen (part of the striatum and the reward system), which again was associated to major activation in the PI (Kirk and Montague, 2015).”
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Short-term mindfulness practice attenuates reward prediction errors signals in the brain
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“Experienced mindfulness meditators are able to attenuate reward prediction signals in a passive conditioning task, which may be related to interoceptive processes encoded in the pIC (Kirk and Montague, 2015).”
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“Mindfulness meditation increases activation of the posterior insula, a region associated with interoceptive processing, and modulates prediction-error signaling, suggesting that mindfulness training may support improved emotional regulation (Kirk and Montague, 2015; Kirk et al., 2019).”
- Authors
- Kirk, U., & Montague, P. R.
- Affiliations
- University of Southern Denmark (DK)
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Montague, P. Read
- Venue
- Frontiers in Psychology
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2015-02-12
- Volume
- 6
- Pages
- 90-90
- ISSN
- 1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4325661
- OpenAlex
- W2041043788
- Cited by
- 42
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 3
- FWCI
- 4.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- University of Southern Denmark Research Portal (University of Southern Denmark) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- VTechWorks (Virginia Tech) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (091593, 091188)
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH085496)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA011723)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- mindfulness meditation, reward prediction error, dopamine, putamen, posterior insula, interoception, self-control, reward processing, striatum, reinforcement learning
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