Brain Mechanisms Supporting Meditation-based Analgesia

Pain Clinical Trial

Official title: Identifying the Neurofunctional Connections Supporting Mindfulness Meditation Based Analgesia

Status Completed

Clinical Trial 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.

Clinical Trial Description

Mindfulness meditation, significantly reduces pain in experimental and clinical settings. Although findings from this laboratory provide novel insights into some of the brain mechanisms supporting the modulation of pain by meditation , the specific analgesic mechanisms engaged during mindfulness meditation remain poorly characterized.

To date, there are no studies that have identified the neurofunctional connections supporting mindfulness meditation-based pain relief. Employing fMRI, the objective of this study will be to determine the neural systems of action supporting mindfulness-based pain relief. The study will determine if higher order brain regions are involved in mindfulness-based analgesia. The results from this aim will identify a neural marker(s) for meditation-related pain relief, a critical step in defining how meditation reduces pain. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Pain

• NCT number: NCT03414138
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: University of California, San Diego
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: April 20, 2018
• Completion date: August 2, 2018