Pediatric chronic pain is a significant public health problem. MBSR has been used in the treatment of a wide variety of clinical conditions, such as chronic pain, whether MBSR is effective for chronic pain in youth remains an empirical question. The proposed study is a two-arm randomized clinical trial examining MBSR for pediatric chronic pain. …
Continue reading “MBSR for the treatment of pediatric chronic pain”
We conducted a pilot study to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of an eight week “mindfulness-based” cognitive behavioral group therapy for chronic combat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Veterans seeking treatment at a Veterans Administration outpatient PTSD clinic (n=11) were enrolled in the study; five completed all eight sessions, three completed at least six sessions, …
In this proposal I seek to shed light on the behavioral and neural effects of mindfulness meditation training (MMT) on attention, memory, and inhibition in adults with attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD). Eligible subjects who reach criteria for ADHD as per evaluation by the Upenn center of cognitive therapy will attend an 8-week MMT course tailored …
Continue reading “Neural effects of mindfulness training on adults with ADD”
The Buddhist philosophy that non-attachment is important to well-being seems to contradict Western attachment theory’s notion that healthy attachment is a key to well-being. Nevertheless, the initial developmental paths of the two systems may overlap: Reliance on warm, responsive, and autonomy-supportive caregivers may promote felt security in both cases through the use of security inducing …
Continue reading “Measurement and correlates of nonattachment”
Receiving a diagnosis and undergoing cancer treatment is associated with high levels of emotional distress and related symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depression, and fatigue). MBSR has been consistently shown to reduce symptoms of stress and mood disturbance among cancer patients. Despite this, the question of “how” MBSR works has not been adequately addressed; it is not …
Continue reading “How does MBSR improve psychological functioning for cancer patients?”
Meditation health benefits have been difficult to document as efficacy studies have been marred by lack of statistical power secondary to small sample size and/or threats to validity from high attrition. To date no published studies have examined barriers to meditation which are likely responsible for low enrollment and high attrition. The purpose of our …
Continue reading “Development and testing of determinants of meditation practice”
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 non-evaluative representation of sensory events. To better understand how meditation influences the sensory experience, we examined brain activity by which meditation influences pain. After four-days (20m/d) …
Continue reading “The influence of meditative experience on pain perception”
Evidence points to the role of stress in the inception and maintenance of substance use disorders. Mindfulness training (MT) has shown promise in a number of stress-related maladies. However, no studies have compared MT to empirically-validated treatments for substance use disorders or assessed its impact on stress provocation. 36 individuals with alcohol and/or cocaine use …
Continue reading “Mindfulness training as treatment and mechanistic probe for drug addiction”
Previous studies have provided some evidence that Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) may be beneficial for patients with chronic pain. This effect may be mediated by an improved ability to regulate emotional responses to pain due to improved attentional control. Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) are useful for measuring the time-course of anticipatory and pain-evoked responses and their …
A considerable number of those who suffer from depression develop a chronic course of the disorder in which symptoms remain over prolonged periods of time and risk for suicidality is significantly increased. Once patients have entered such a course, response to established treatments is significantly reduced. The aim of the current study was to test …
