The overall goal of this proposal is to identify the neural mechanisms underlying changes associated with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Clinical research has shown that MBSR reduces psychological distress and increases well-being, but the mechanisms underlying these changes in not well described. Basic research has examined the neural bases of emotion and emotion regulation, but this research has not examined changes following MBSR. To integrate clinical and basic research literatures, we employ a translational framework that characterizes the impact of MBSR on emotion regulation in terms of interactions between ventral emotion-generative brain regions and dorsal emotion-regulatory brain regions. Within this framework, we propose to compare the effects of MBSR and an active control condition (ACC) in participants with generalized social phobia (SP). SP will be randomly assigned to MBSR or ACC and assessed using self-report inventories and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after MBSR and the ACC.
Three aims will be investigated:
Aim 1 investigates the effects of MBSR on anxiety and well-being. For the MBSR participants, we expect significant (a) decreases in anxiety, and (b) increases in well-being at immediately post-intervention and at the 3-month follow-up compared to pre-intervention. For the ACC participants, we expect no change in anxiety or well-being from pre- to post-intervention.
Aim 2 investigates the effects of MBSR on attentional and cognitive emotion regulation. We expect MBSR participants to show improvements in attentional regulation (the focus of MBSR), but no change in cognitive regulation (not the focus of MBSR) from pre- to post-intervention, as indicated by (a) greater reductions in negative emotion ratings, (b) greater reductions in ventral emotion-generative brain regions, as well as (c) greater increases in attention-related dorsal emotion-regulatory brain regions. We do not expect ACC participants to show changes in either form of regulation from pre- to post-ACC.
Aim 3 investigates whether MBSR-related changes in attentional emotion regulation mediate MBSR treatment response (decreases in anxiety and increases in well-being) at post-treatment and at the 3-month follow-up.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
5R21AT003644-03
Application #
7661349
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAT1-DB (25))
Program Officer
Khalsa, Partap Singh
Project Start
2007-07-01
Project End
2010-06-30
Budget Start
2009-07-01
Budget End
2010-06-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$191,674
Indirect Cost
Name
Stanford University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
009214214
City
Stanford
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94305
Rodebaugh, Thomas L; Tonge, Natasha A; Piccirillo, Marilyn L et al. (2018) Does centrality in a cross-sectional network suggest intervention targets for social anxiety disorder? J Consult Clin Psychol 86:831-844
Jazaieri, Hooria; Lee, Ihno A; Goldin, Philippe R et al. (2016) Pre-treatment social anxiety severity moderates the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction and aerobic exercise. Psychol Psychother 89:229-34
Goldin, Philippe; Ziv, Michal; Jazaieri, Hooria et al. (2013) MBSR vs aerobic exercise in social anxiety: fMRI of emotion regulation of negative self-beliefs. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 8:65-72
Jazaieri, Hooria; Goldin, Philippe R; Werner, Kelly et al. (2012) A randomized trial of MBSR versus aerobic exercise for social anxiety disorder. J Clin Psychol 68:715-31
Kuo, Janice R; Goldin, Philippe R; Werner, Kelly et al. (2011) Childhood trauma and current psychological functioning in adults with social anxiety disorder. J Anxiety Disord 25:467-73
Goldin, Philippe R; Gross, James J (2010) Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on emotion regulation in social anxiety disorder. Emotion 10:83-91
Goldin, Philippe; Ramel, Wiveka; Gross, James (2009) Mindfulness Meditation Training and Self-Referential Processing in Social Anxiety Disorder: Behavioral and Neural Effects. J Cogn Psychother 23:242-257