Neural Mechanisms of Mindfulness
Condition: Cognitive Change
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This project focuses on understanding the cognitive and neural mechanisms by which
      mindfulness training (MT) results in positive behavioral change and enhanced psychological
      well-being. Participants will complete two sets of cognitive tasks during functional magnetic
      resonance imaging (fMRI) and either be assigned to an MT intervention between scan sets or
      after scan sets.
    

Detailed description: 
      This project focuses on understanding the cognitive and neural mechanisms by which
      mindfulness training (MT) results in positive behavioral change and enhanced psychological
      well-being. Although MT is rapidly gaining in popularity as a life-style intervention, there
      are still critical gaps in our understanding of its primary mechanism of action. Current
      theoretical frameworks suggest that MT operates by improving attentional control, emotional
      regulation, and self-awareness capabilities, potentially by targeting neuroplastic brain
      mechanisms of executive control. This suggests an important role for cognitive neuroscience
      research, but current work is still in its infancy, and subject to a number of
      well-recognized methodological and conceptual limitations. The proposed project aims to
      systematically remedy these limitations of prior MT research, by leveraging the unique
      opportunities offered by the Human Connectome Project (HCP), and on-going NIH R01-funded
      research. A key feature of the project is the use of a randomized, longitudinal discordant
      twin design, in which monozygotic (MZ; identical) twin pairs will be recruited, with one
      co-twin randomly assigned to the MT condition (mindfulness-based stress reduction, or MBSR;
      the most-validated and standardized form of MT instruction) and the other serving as a
      (wait-list) control. Each co-twin will undergo extensive behavioral and MRI neuroimaging
      assessments in a pre/post fashion, before and after the MT (or no-contact control)
      intervention, to test for specific MT-related effects. The discordant twin design, though
      never previously employed in an MT context, is widely recognized as one of the strongest for
      causal inference, since it avoids many of the challenges and confounds associated with
      inadequately matched control groups, and enables twin-pair focused analyses, which greatly
      increase statistical power. The investigators will use this design to investigate
      theoretically-focused hypotheses that stem from a guiding framework regarding the neural
      mechanisms of cognitive control. Specifically, using a newly developed cognitive control task
      battery, the investigator will test the counter-intuitive hypothesis that MT produces an
      enhancement in the neural mechanism and circuits associated with reactive (rather than
      proactive) control. An additional subset of MZ twin participants will undergo retesting with
      the original HCP protocol, in order to provide a comprehensive assessment and comparison of
      MT effect sizes across multiple domains of cognitive and brain function. Success in this
      project will have high relevance for public health, by providing innovative experimental
      tools and a novel theoretical framework from which to empirically evaluate and better
      understand the potential impact of MT programs as lifestyle interventions for enhancing
      psychological well-being in healthy populations.
    

Intervention name(s): Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): 8 week, 10-session course of mindfulness training
Other intervention name(s): MBSR
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: discordant twin design
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Basic Science