Brain Mechanisms Supporting Meditation-based Analgesia
Identifying the Neurofunctional Connections Supporting Mindfulness Meditation Based Analgesia
2 other identifiers
interventional
40
1 country
1
Brief Summary
Mindfulness meditation has been shown to reduce pain in experimental and clinical settings, and the neural mechanisms underlying this analgesia are distinct from that of placebo related beliefs in the utility of the meditation. Although previous studies have identified potential cortical and sub-cortical targets responsible for mediating these effects, the connectional relationships between them remains largely unexplored. The present study will use blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) neuroimaging to assess functional connections supporting mindfulness meditation.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P25-P50 for not_applicable pain
Started Apr 2018
Shorter than P25 for not_applicable pain
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
Click on a node to explore related trials.
Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
January 16, 2018
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
January 29, 2018
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
April 20, 2018
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
August 2, 2018
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
August 2, 2018
CompletedJune 11, 2019
June 1, 2019
3 months
January 16, 2018
June 7, 2019
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signaling
Changes in blood oxygenation levels to thermally noxious stimuli (49°C) will be assessed, and planned comparisons will be performed between subjects trained in mindfulness meditation and those trained in deep-breathing meditation.
Up to 3 weeks
Secondary Outcomes (1)
Change in Visual Analog Scale Pain Ratings as a function of mindfulness-based mental training
Up to 3 weeks
Other Outcomes (10)
Respiration Rate
Up to 3 weeks
Heart Rate
up to 3 weeks
State Anxiety Inventory (SAI)
up to 3 weeks
- +7 more other outcomes
Study Arms (2)
Mindfulness Meditation Group
EXPERIMENTALResearch volunteers will participate in four sessions (20 min/session) of mindfulness training. Participants are taught that perceived sensory events are "momentary" and "fleeting", requiring no further evaluation. They will be asked to close their eyes, relax and focus on the flow of their breathing by "simply letting go" of discursive thoughts.
Book Listening Control
ACTIVE COMPARATORStudy volunteers will listen to an audio recording of the Natural History of Selborne across each session.This 4 session sequence is meant to match features of the experimental meditation sessions, including attention to the recording, room setting, social support, conditioning, and time elapsed during the sessions. We do not expect that this group will demonstrate significant blood oxygenation changes as a function of the intervention.
Interventions
A well-validated brief mindfulness-based mental training regimen \[four sessions; 20 min/session\] will be used to teach patients to independently practice mindfulness meditation.
Study volunteers will listen to four 20 minute blocks of The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne throughout their interventions.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Normal volunteers between ages 18 and 65.
- Men and women of all races will be included
You may not qualify if:
- Subjects with a history of psychiatric or neurological disorders.
- Subjects will be excluded if they report being claustrophobic.
- Subjects with a prior history of meditation training will be excluded.
- Subjects with ferrous metal or electronic devices (e g., pacemakers) implanted in there body will be excluded.
- Pregnant subjects will be excluded.
- Subjects that demonstrate no pain to noxious temperatures (\>49°C) or excessive responses to temperatures at or below 43°C will be excluded.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27157, United States
Related Publications (64)
Arsenault M, Ladouceur A, Lehmann A, Rainville P, Piche M. Pain modulation induced by respiration: phase and frequency effects. Neuroscience. 2013 Nov 12;252:501-11. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.07.048. Epub 2013 Jul 29.
PMID: 23906637BACKGROUNDBaer RA, Smith GT, Lykins E, Button D, Krietemeyer J, Sauer S, Walsh E, Duggan D, Williams JM. Construct validity of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire in meditating and nonmeditating samples. Assessment. 2008 Sep;15(3):329-42. doi: 10.1177/1073191107313003. Epub 2008 Feb 29.
PMID: 18310597BACKGROUNDBorkovec TD, & Nau, S.D. Credibility of analogue therapy rationales. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry 1972;3:257-260.
BACKGROUNDBuhle J, Wager TD. Does meditation training lead to enduring changes in the anticipation and experience of pain? Pain. 2010 Sep;150(3):382-383. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2010.05.004. Epub 2010 May 23. No abstract available.
PMID: 20546996BACKGROUNDCassidy EL, Atherton RJ, Robertson N, Walsh DA, Gillett R. Mindfulness, functioning and catastrophizing after multidisciplinary pain management for chronic low back pain. Pain. 2012 Mar;153(3):644-650. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2011.11.027. Epub 2012 Jan 11.
PMID: 22240149BACKGROUNDCoghill RC, Eisenach J. Individual differences in pain sensitivity: implications for treatment decisions. Anesthesiology. 2003 Jun;98(6):1312-4. doi: 10.1097/00000542-200306000-00003. No abstract available.
PMID: 12766637BACKGROUNDCoghill RC, Gilron I, Iadarola MJ. Hemispheric lateralization of somatosensory processing. J Neurophysiol. 2001 Jun;85(6):2602-12. doi: 10.1152/jn.2001.85.6.2602.
PMID: 11387404BACKGROUNDCoghill RC, Mayer DJ, Price DD. The roles of spatial recruitment and discharge frequency in spinal cord coding of pain: a combined electrophysiological and imaging investigation. Pain. 1993 Jun;53(3):295-309. doi: 10.1016/0304-3959(93)90226-F.
PMID: 8351159BACKGROUNDCoghill RC, McHaffie JG, Yen YF. Neural correlates of interindividual differences in the subjective experience of pain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Jul 8;100(14):8538-42. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1430684100. Epub 2003 Jun 24.
PMID: 12824463BACKGROUNDCoghill RC, Sang CN, Berman KF, Bennett GJ, Iadarola MJ. Global cerebral blood flow decreases during pain. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 1998 Feb;18(2):141-7. doi: 10.1097/00004647-199802000-00003.
PMID: 9469155BACKGROUNDDay MA, Smitherman A, Ward LC, Thorn BE. An investigation of the associations between measures of mindfulness and pain catastrophizing. Clin J Pain. 2015 Mar;31(3):222-8. doi: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000000102.
PMID: 24699159BACKGROUNDde Boer MJ, Steinhagen HE, Versteegen GJ, Struys MM, Sanderman R. Mindfulness, acceptance and catastrophizing in chronic pain. PLoS One. 2014 Jan 29;9(1):e87445. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0087445. eCollection 2014.
PMID: 24489915BACKGROUNDFriston KJ, Buechel C, Fink GR, Morris J, Rolls E, Dolan RJ. Psychophysiological and modulatory interactions in neuroimaging. Neuroimage. 1997 Oct;6(3):218-29. doi: 10.1006/nimg.1997.0291.
PMID: 9344826BACKGROUNDGard T, Holzel BK, Sack AT, Hempel H, Lazar SW, Vaitl D, Ott U. Pain attenuation through mindfulness is associated with decreased cognitive control and increased sensory processing in the brain. Cereb Cortex. 2012 Nov;22(11):2692-702. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhr352. Epub 2011 Dec 15.
PMID: 22172578BACKGROUNDGarland EL, Gaylord SA, Palsson O, Faurot K, Douglas Mann J, Whitehead WE. Therapeutic mechanisms of a mindfulness-based treatment for IBS: effects on visceral sensitivity, catastrophizing, and affective processing of pain sensations. J Behav Med. 2012 Dec;35(6):591-602. doi: 10.1007/s10865-011-9391-z. Epub 2011 Dec 8.
PMID: 22161025BACKGROUNDGrant JA, Courtemanche J, Duerden EG, Duncan GH, Rainville P. Cortical thickness and pain sensitivity in zen meditators. Emotion. 2010 Feb;10(1):43-53. doi: 10.1037/a0018334.
PMID: 20141301BACKGROUNDGrant JA, Rainville P. Pain sensitivity and analgesic effects of mindful states in Zen meditators: a cross-sectional study. Psychosom Med. 2009 Jan;71(1):106-14. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e31818f52ee. Epub 2008 Dec 10.
PMID: 19073756BACKGROUNDJermann F, Billieux J, Laroi F, d'Argembeau A, Bondolfi G, Zermatten A, Van der Linden M. Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS): Psychometric properties of the French translation and exploration of its relations with emotion regulation strategies. Psychol Assess. 2009 Dec;21(4):506-14. doi: 10.1037/a0017032.
PMID: 19947785BACKGROUNDKabat-Zinn J. An outpatient program in behavioral medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness meditation: theoretical considerations and preliminary results. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 1982 Apr;4(1):33-47. doi: 10.1016/0163-8343(82)90026-3.
PMID: 7042457BACKGROUNDKabat-Zinn J, Lipworth L, Burney R. The clinical use of mindfulness meditation for the self-regulation of chronic pain. J Behav Med. 1985 Jun;8(2):163-90. doi: 10.1007/BF00845519.
PMID: 3897551BACKGROUNDKotov R, Bellman, S., & Watson, D. Multidimensional Iowa suggestibility scale: Brief Manual, 2007.
BACKGROUNDKoyama T, McHaffie JG, Laurienti PJ, Coghill RC. The subjective experience of pain: where expectations become reality. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Sep 6;102(36):12950-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0408576102. Epub 2005 Sep 6.
PMID: 16150703BACKGROUNDLazar SW, Bush G, Gollub RL, Fricchione GL, Khalsa G, Benson H. Functional brain mapping of the relaxation response and meditation. Neuroreport. 2000 May 15;11(7):1581-5.
PMID: 10841380BACKGROUNDLutz A, Greischar LL, Perlman DM, Davidson RJ. BOLD signal in insula is differentially related to cardiac function during compassion meditation in experts vs. novices. Neuroimage. 2009 Sep;47(3):1038-46. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.04.081. Epub 2009 May 5.
PMID: 19426817BACKGROUNDMcNAir D, Loor, M., & Droppleman, L. Profile of Mood States. San Diego, CA: Educational and Industrial Testing Service, 1971.
BACKGROUNDO'Grady KE. The Absorption Scale: a factor-analytic assessment. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 1980 Jul;28(3):281-8. doi: 10.1080/00207148008409853. No abstract available.
PMID: 7390668BACKGROUNDO'Reilly JX, Woolrich MW, Behrens TE, Smith SM, Johansen-Berg H. Tools of the trade: psychophysiological interactions and functional connectivity. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2012 Jun;7(5):604-9. doi: 10.1093/scan/nss055. Epub 2012 May 7.
PMID: 22569188BACKGROUNDPerlman DM, Salomons TV, Davidson RJ, Lutz A. Differential effects on pain intensity and unpleasantness of two meditation practices. Emotion. 2010 Feb;10(1):65-71. doi: 10.1037/a0018440.
PMID: 20141303BACKGROUNDPetrovic P, Kalso E, Petersson KM, Andersson J, Fransson P, Ingvar M. A prefrontal non-opioid mechanism in placebo analgesia. Pain. 2010 Jul;150(1):59-65. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2010.03.011.
PMID: 20399560BACKGROUNDPeyron R, Garcia-Larrea L, Gregoire MC, Convers P, Richard A, Lavenne F, Barral FG, Mauguiere F, Michel D, Laurent B. Parietal and cingulate processes in central pain. A combined positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study of an unusual case. Pain. 2000 Jan;84(1):77-87. doi: 10.1016/S0304-3959(99)00190-6.
PMID: 10601675BACKGROUNDPoulin PA, Romanow HC, Rahbari N, Small R, Smyth CE, Hatchard T, Solomon BK, Song X, Harris CA, Kowal J, Nathan HJ, Wilson KG. The relationship between mindfulness, pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, depression, and quality of life among cancer survivors living with chronic neuropathic pain. Support Care Cancer. 2016 Oct;24(10):4167-75. doi: 10.1007/s00520-016-3243-x. Epub 2016 May 18.
PMID: 27193116BACKGROUNDPrice DD, Bush FM, Long S, Harkins SW. A comparison of pain measurement characteristics of mechanical visual analogue and simple numerical rating scales. Pain. 1994 Feb;56(2):217-226. doi: 10.1016/0304-3959(94)90097-3.
PMID: 8008411BACKGROUNDPrice DD, Harkins SW, Baker C. Sensory-affective relationships among different types of clinical and experimental pain. Pain. 1987 Mar;28(3):297-307. doi: 10.1016/0304-3959(87)90065-0.
PMID: 2952934BACKGROUNDPrice DD, McGrath PA, Rafii A, Buckingham B. The validation of visual analogue scales as ratio scale measures for chronic and experimental pain. Pain. 1983 Sep;17(1):45-56. doi: 10.1016/0304-3959(83)90126-4.
PMID: 6226917BACKGROUNDPrins B, Decuypere A, Van Damme S. Effects of mindfulness and distraction on pain depend upon individual differences in pain catastrophizing: an experimental study. Eur J Pain. 2014 Oct;18(9):1307-15. doi: 10.1002/j.1532-2149.2014.491.x. Epub 2014 Mar 26.
PMID: 24677437BACKGROUNDRainville P, Duncan GH, Price DD, Carrier B, Bushnell MC. Pain affect encoded in human anterior cingulate but not somatosensory cortex. Science. 1997 Aug 15;277(5328):968-71. doi: 10.1126/science.277.5328.968.
PMID: 9252330BACKGROUNDRhudy JL. Respiration-induced hypoalgesia: additional evidence for pain modulation deficits in fibromyalgia? Pain. 2010 Apr;149(1):1-2. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2010.01.004. Epub 2010 Feb 1. No abstract available.
PMID: 20122804BACKGROUNDSalkind MR. Beck depression inventory in general practice. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1969 Nov;18(88):267-71. No abstract available.
PMID: 5350525BACKGROUNDSchutze R, Rees C, Preece M, Schutze M. Low mindfulness predicts pain catastrophizing in a fear-avoidance model of chronic pain. Pain. 2010 Jan;148(1):120-127. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2009.10.030. Epub 2009 Nov 26.
PMID: 19944534BACKGROUNDSeppala EM, Nitschke JB, Tudorascu DL, Hayes A, Goldstein MR, Nguyen DT, Perlman D, Davidson RJ. Breathing-based meditation decreases posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in U.S. military veterans: a randomized controlled longitudinal study. J Trauma Stress. 2014 Aug;27(4):397-405. doi: 10.1002/jts.21936.
PMID: 25158633BACKGROUNDSpielberger CD. Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-form y). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychology Press, 1983.
BACKGROUNDStarr CJ, Sawaki L, Wittenberg GF, Burdette JH, Oshiro Y, Quevedo AS, Coghill RC. Roles of the insular cortex in the modulation of pain: insights from brain lesions. J Neurosci. 2009 Mar 4;29(9):2684-94. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5173-08.2009.
PMID: 19261863BACKGROUNDSullivan MJ, D'Eon JL. Relation between catastrophizing and depression in chronic pain patients. J Abnorm Psychol. 1990 Aug;99(3):260-3. doi: 10.1037//0021-843x.99.3.260.
PMID: 2145334BACKGROUNDSullivan MJL, Martel MO, Tripp D, Savard A, Crombez G. The relation between catastrophizing and the communication of pain experience. Pain. 2006 Jun;122(3):282-288. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2006.02.001. Epub 2006 Mar 20.
PMID: 16545907BACKGROUNDSullivan MJL, Stanish W, Waite H, Sullivan M, Tripp DA. Catastrophizing, pain, and disability in patients with soft-tissue injuries. Pain. 1998 Sep;77(3):253-260. doi: 10.1016/S0304-3959(98)00097-9.
PMID: 9808350BACKGROUNDTang YY, Ma Y, Wang J, Fan Y, Feng S, Lu Q, Yu Q, Sui D, Rothbart MK, Fan M, Posner MI. Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Oct 23;104(43):17152-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0707678104. Epub 2007 Oct 11.
PMID: 17940025BACKGROUNDVelanovich V, Younga J, Bhandarkar V, Marshall N, McLaren P, Ritz J, Rubinfeld I. A single, global patient-centered measure from the SF-36 instrument to assess surgical outcomes and quality of life: a pilot study. World J Surg. 2012 Sep;36(9):2045-50. doi: 10.1007/s00268-012-1634-9.
PMID: 22538393BACKGROUNDVillemure C, Bushnell MC. Mood influences supraspinal pain processing separately from attention. J Neurosci. 2009 Jan 21;29(3):705-15. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3822-08.2009.
PMID: 19158297BACKGROUNDWager TD, Rilling JK, Smith EE, Sokolik A, Casey KL, Davidson RJ, Kosslyn SM, Rose RM, Cohen JD. Placebo-induced changes in FMRI in the anticipation and experience of pain. Science. 2004 Feb 20;303(5661):1162-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1093065.
PMID: 14976306BACKGROUNDWalach H, Buchheld N, Buttenmuller V, Kleinknecht N, Schmidt S. Measuring mindfulness-the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI). Personality and Individual Differences 2006;40:1543-1555.
BACKGROUNDWatson D, Clark LA, Tellegen A. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988 Jun;54(6):1063-70. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.54.6.1063.
PMID: 3397865BACKGROUNDWhite G. Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne. London, England: Cassell and Company, 1908.
BACKGROUNDWoolrich MW, Ripley BD, Brady M, Smith SM. Temporal autocorrelation in univariate linear modeling of FMRI data. Neuroimage. 2001 Dec;14(6):1370-86. doi: 10.1006/nimg.2001.0931.
PMID: 11707093BACKGROUNDWorsley KJ, Evans AC, Marrett S, Neelin P. A three-dimensional statistical analysis for CBF activation studies in human brain. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 1992 Nov;12(6):900-18. doi: 10.1038/jcbfm.1992.127.
PMID: 1400644BACKGROUNDYelle MD, Oshiro Y, Kraft RA, Coghill RC. Temporal filtering of nociceptive information by dynamic activation of endogenous pain modulatory systems. J Neurosci. 2009 Aug 19;29(33):10264-71. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4648-08.2009.
PMID: 19692600BACKGROUNDZeidan F. The Neurobiology of Mindfulness Meditation. In: KW Brown, Creswell, J.D., & R.M., Ryan, editor. Handbook of Mindfulness Science: Theory, Research and Practice. New York, New York: The Guilford Press, 2015.
BACKGROUNDZeidan F, Adler-Neal AL, Wells RE, Stagnaro E, May LM, Eisenach JC, McHaffie JG, Coghill RC. Mindfulness-Meditation-Based Pain Relief Is Not Mediated by Endogenous Opioids. J Neurosci. 2016 Mar 16;36(11):3391-7. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4328-15.2016.
PMID: 26985045BACKGROUNDZeidan F, Emerson NM, Farris SR, Ray JN, Jung Y, McHaffie JG, Coghill RC. Mindfulness Meditation-Based Pain Relief Employs Different Neural Mechanisms Than Placebo and Sham Mindfulness Meditation-Induced Analgesia. J Neurosci. 2015 Nov 18;35(46):15307-25. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2542-15.2015.
PMID: 26586819BACKGROUNDZeidan F, Gordon NS, Merchant J, Goolkasian P. The effects of brief mindfulness meditation training on experimentally induced pain. J Pain. 2010 Mar;11(3):199-209. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2009.07.015. Epub 2009 Oct 22.
PMID: 19853530BACKGROUNDZeidan F, Grant JA, Brown CA, McHaffie JG, Coghill RC. Mindfulness meditation-related pain relief: evidence for unique brain mechanisms in the regulation of pain. Neurosci Lett. 2012 Jun 29;520(2):165-73. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2012.03.082. Epub 2012 Apr 6.
PMID: 22487846BACKGROUNDZeidan F, Johnson SK, Diamond BJ, David Z, Goolkasian P. Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: evidence of brief mental training. Conscious Cogn. 2010 Jun;19(2):597-605. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2010.03.014. Epub 2010 Apr 3.
PMID: 20363650BACKGROUNDZeidan F, Johnson SK, Gordon NS, Goolkasian P. Effects of brief and sham mindfulness meditation on mood and cardiovascular variables. J Altern Complement Med. 2010 Aug;16(8):867-73. doi: 10.1089/acm.2009.0321.
PMID: 20666590BACKGROUNDZeidan F, Lobanov OV, Kraft RA, Coghill RC. Brain mechanisms supporting violated expectations of pain. Pain. 2015 Sep;156(9):1772-1785. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000231.
PMID: 26083664BACKGROUNDZeidan F, Martucci KT, Kraft RA, Gordon NS, McHaffie JG, Coghill RC. Brain mechanisms supporting the modulation of pain by mindfulness meditation. J Neurosci. 2011 Apr 6;31(14):5540-8. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5791-10.2011.
PMID: 21471390BACKGROUND
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Fadel Zeidan, PhD
Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- TRIPLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Masking Details
- Subjects will be randomly assigned to two groups by the research coordinator. Investigators, study staff and MRI technicians will be blind as to the participant's group assignment.
- Purpose
- BASIC SCIENCE
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Assistant Professor
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
January 16, 2018
First Posted
January 29, 2018
Study Start
April 20, 2018
Primary Completion
August 2, 2018
Study Completion
August 2, 2018
Last Updated
June 11, 2019
Record last verified: 2019-06