There Is More to Mindfulness Than Emotion Regulation: A Study on Brain Structural Networks

Combining mindfulness and cognitive training in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: study protocol of a pilot randomized controlled trial (the NeuroMind study)

Introduction

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has a global mean prevalence of 5%. Cognitive Training (CT) and Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have shown promising results in managing ADHD symptoms, but they are not its Treatment-As-Usual (TAU). The NeuroMind Study aims to evaluate the preliminary effectiveness and feasibility of three interventions: Mindfulness for Health (M4H), CT using the NeuronUP® platform (CT), and a combination of both, Mindfulness Cognitive Training (MCT). There is empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of the M4H and NeuronUP® platform; however, this study explores for the first time the effectiveness of MCT and CT, as well as the integration of M4H into TAU. The objectives of this 5-month Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) are: (1) To analyze the preliminary effectiveness and feasibility of M4H, CT or a combination of both (MCT) added to TAU for children with ADHD; (2) To evaluate the role of psychological process variables (mindfulness and emotional regulation) as mediators of 5-month follow-up clinical outcomes; (3) To preliminarily explore whether specific sociodemographic and clinical characteristics can predict the short-and medium-term clinical response to the specific treatments.

Methods and analysis

Participants will be 120 children (7 to 12 years) with ADHD recruited at Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Sant Joan de Déu Terres de Lleida (Spain) randomly allocated to one of the four study arms: TAU vs. TAU + CT vs. TAU + M4H vs. TAU + MCT. An assessment to collect ADHD symptoms, Executive Functions (EF), comorbid symptoms and global functioning will be conducted pre-intervention, post-intervention (2 months after baseline) and at the 5-month follow-up. Linear mixed models and mediational models will be computed.

Discussion

If the preliminary effectiveness and feasibility of the MCT are demonstrated, this study could be a preliminary basis to do a full RCT with a larger sample to definitively validate the intervention. The MCT could be applied in clinical practice if it is definitively validated.Clinical trial registration:ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier, NCT05937347. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05937347?locStr=Spain&country=Spain&cond=ADHD&intr=Mindfulness&rank=1.

Alterations in cerebral glucose metabolism measured by FDG PET in subjects performing a meditation practice based on clitoral stimulation

Background

The relationship between sexuality, or the libido, and spirituality or religion has long been debated in psychiatry. Recent studies have explored the neurophysiology of both sexual experiences and spiritual practices such as meditation or prayer. In the present study, we report changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in a unique meditation practice augmented by clitoral stimulation called, Orgasmic Meditation, in which a spiritual state is described to be attained by both male and female participants engaged in the practice as a pair.

Methods

Male (N=20) and female (N=20) subjects had an intravenous catheter connected to a bag of normal saline inserted prior to the practice. During the practice, men stimulated their partner's clitoris for exactly 15 minutes (he received no sexual stimulation). Midway through the practice, researchers injected 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose so the scan would reflect cerebral metabolism during the practice. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging was performed approximately 30 minutes later.

Results

In the female participants, the meditation state showed significant decreases in the left inferior frontal, inferior parietal, insula, middle temporal, and orbitofrontal regions as well as in the right angular gyrus, anterior cingulate and parahippocampus compared to a neutral state (p<0.01). Male subjects had significant decreases in the left middle frontal, paracentral, precentral, and postcentral regions as well as the right middle frontal and paracentral regions during meditation (p<0.01). Men also had significantly increased metabolism in the cerebellum and right postcentral and superior temporal regions (p<0.01).

Conclusions

These findings represent a distinct pattern of brain activity, for both men and women, that is a hybrid between that of other meditation practices and sexual stimulation. Such findings have potential psychotherapeutic implications and may deepen our understanding of the relationship between spiritual and sexual experience.

Decoding reappraisal and suppression from neural circuits: A combined supervised and unsupervised machine learning approach

Emotion regulation is a core construct of mental health and deficits in emotion regulation abilities lead to psychological disorders. Reappraisal and suppression are two widely studied emotion regulation strategies but, possibly due to methodological limitations in previous studies, a consistent picture of the neural correlates related to the individual differences in their habitual use remains elusive. To address these issues, the present study applied a combination of unsupervised and supervised machine learning algorithms to the structural MRI scans of 128 individuals. First, unsupervised machine learning was used to separate the brain into naturally grouping grey matter circuits. Then, supervised machine learning was applied to predict individual differences in the use of different strategies of emotion regulation. Two predictive models, including structural brain features and psychological ones, were tested. Results showed that a temporo-parahippocampal-orbitofrontal network successfully predicted the individual differences in the use of reappraisal. Differently, insular and fronto-temporo-cerebellar networks successfully predicted suppression. In both predictive models, anxiety, the opposite strategy, and specific emotional intelligence factors played a role in predicting the use of reappraisal and suppression. This work provides new insights regarding the decoding of individual differences from structural features and other psychologically relevant variables while extending previous observations on the neural bases of emotion regulation strategies.

Recentering neuroscience on behavior: The interface between brain and environment is a privileged level of control of neural activity

Despite the huge and constant progress in the molecular and cellular neuroscience fields, our capability to understand brain alterations and treat mental illness is still limited. Therefore, a paradigm shift able to overcome such limitation is warranted. Behavior and the associated mental states are the interface between the central nervous system and the living environment. Since, in any system, the interface is a key regulator of system organization, behavior is proposed here as a unique and privileged level of control and orchestration of brain structure and activity. This view has relevant scientific and clinical implications. First, the study of behavior represents a singular starting point for the investigation of neural activity in an integrated and comprehensive fashion. Second, behavioral changes, accomplished through psychotherapy or environmental interventions, are expected to have the highest impact to specifically reorganize the complexity of the human mind and thus achieve a solid and long-lasting improvement in mental health.

Associations between Leisure Preferences, Mindfulness, Psychological Capital, and Life Satisfaction

This study intended to explore which leisure preferences contribute to mindfulness, psychological capital, and life satisfaction and assess whether mindfulness, psychological capital, and life satisfaction are associated with different leisure preferences. This study applied the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-12), the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), and the instrument to evaluate the prevalence of leisure preferences. A sample consisted of 586 participants, 104 males and 478 females. The mean age of participants was 42.06, SD = 13.29. The results show that respondents who did not spend free time watching television scored higher on life satisfaction, mindfulness, and psychological capital. Participants who preferred attending events scored higher on life satisfaction and psychological capital. Participants who preferred spending time with family as a leisure preference scored significantly higher on life satisfaction, mindfulness, and psychological capital, including PsyCap overall, PsyCap work, PsyCap relationship, and PsyCap health. The findings also reveal that time spent with family is significantly associated with life satisfaction. Besides, males’ life satisfaction was significantly associated with time spent in nature, while females’ satisfaction was associated with spending time with family and participating in events. Males’ mindfulness was significantly associated with book reading, and females’ mindfulness was associated with not watching television. Males’ psychological capital was significantly associated with spending time with family and book reading, and females’ psychological capital was associated with not watching television but spending time with family, participating in events, and spending time in nature. The findings also showed that mindfulness mediated the link between watching television and life satisfaction, and psychological capital mediated links between spending time with family, participating in events, and life satisfaction. The findings demonstrate that life satisfaction is also significantly associated with spending time with family as a leisure preference. This study also revealed a significant negative association between age and spending time with friends or family, evidencing the possible loneliness of elderly respondents. Due to limitations of this study, including sample size and characteristics, cultural context, and research design, the research findings would preferably be regarded thoughtfully.