Holzel Et Al (results, conclusions) Flashcards
- Pptts spent an average of 27 minutes per day on mindfulness HW during the course
On avergae, How much time did ppts spend om mindfulness HW during the course?
- 27 mins per day
How long did pptts spend on the body scan practice?
- Mean of 699 minutes
How much did ppts spend on the mindful yoga practice?
Mean of 327 minutes
How long did ppts spend on the sitting meditation practice?
- Mean of 332 minutes
Results: The 3 mindfulness exercises (correlations)
- Non of the 3 measures were significantly correlated
Results: Improvement in mindfulness
Ppts in the experimental group:
* Significantly increased their mindfulness scores on 3 subscales
* Which was significantly greater than the controls
* Acting with awareness, observing, non-judging
Results: Grey matter changes in the regions of interest
- There was a small cluster in the left hippocampus which increased in grey matter concentration (1% increase vs 0.001% for control)
- Changes were not found for the bilateral insulae
- Confirming that structural changes in this region are detetctable post-program
- This change did NOT correlate with the amount of completed HW or FFMQ score changes
Results: Exploratory analysis of the entire brain:
- 4 clusters significantly increased in grey matter (compared to PRE treatment)
The 4 clusters/areas were: - Posterior cingulate cortex (1%)
- Left temporo-parietal junction (0.7%)
- Lateral cerebellum (0.15%)
- Cerebullum vermis (0.14%)
- Did not correlate with amount of completed HW or FFMQ score changes
Name the 4 clusters that significantly increased in grey matter post treatment?
- Posterior cingulate cortex
- Left temporo-parietal junction
- Lateral cerebellum
- Cerebullum vermis
What is the role of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)?
- Has a role on the how we judge the revelance of stimuli (to ourselves)
- Links to observing (noticing external/internal stimuli)
E.G Assessing how important an experience is to our emotional/autobiograhical context
What is the role of the Left temporo-parietal junction? (TJP)
- Plays a role in how we see ourselves
- Or ‘Self referencial processing’
- When the TJP is impaired this self-referencial porcessing system can become faulty and lead to out-of-of body experinces
- Links to mindfulness training to see the body as a complete whole
What happens when the Left Temporo-parietal junction (TJP) becomes faulty?
- When the TJP is impaired this self-referencial porcessing system can become faulty and lead to out-of-of body experinces
What is the role of the cerebellum?
- Regulating emotions and cognitions
Role of the lateral cerebullum
- involved in planning movements and motor learning.
Role of the Cerebellum Vermis
- involved in cardiovascular regulation
- during movement and posture changes.
Ppts in the experimental group significantly increased their mindfulness scores on 3 subscales; Acting with awareness, observing, non-judging which was significantly greater than the controls. Conclusions?
- The results suggest that mindfulness can help people to gain a greater sense of wellbeing and experience more positive psychological feelings.
There was a small cluster in the left hippocampus which increased in grey matter concentration (1% increase vs 0.001% for control). Conclusions?
- The results suggest that as the hippocampus plays a role in learning and memory
- that mindfulness can be a learning experience that changes the volume of the hippocampal grey matter.
Exploratory analysis of the entire brain revealed four clusters with significantly greater grey matter concentration after the course compared to before in the MBSR group. Conclusions?
- The results suggest that particpation in an 8 week mindfulness course casues structural changes in these brain regions
- Thus, the adult nervous system has the capacity for plasticity,
- and the structure of the brain can change in response to training.
