Effect of Mind Sound Resonance Technique (MSRT – A yoga-based relaxation technique) on psychological variables and cognition in school children: A randomized controlled trial

ObjectiveSchool children undergo stress, which could impact their psychological functions and cognitive abilities. Yoga practices have been found useful in enhancing psychological functions and performance. The current study was planned to evaluate a yoga-based relaxation technique's efficacy as an extracurricular activity on psychological state and cognitive function.Design and settingThis study was a parallel-group randomized controlled trial conducted at a government school in south India.ParticipantsSixty students with age ranging between 14–16 years (mean age ± SD; 15.3 ± 0.71 years) satisfying the inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomized to experimental and control groups with an allocation ratio of 1:1.InterventionExperimental group received Mind Sound Resonance Technique (MSRT), whereas the control group performed supine rest (SR) for two-weeks.Outcome measuresParticipants were assessed with State trait anxiety inventory - short form, Mind Wandering Questionnaire, State Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale, and Trail making task at baseline and post-intervention.ResultsExperimental group showed a reduction in state anxiety and mind wandering with improvement in state mindfulness and performance in the Trail-making task compared to the control group.ConclusionResults of the current trial indicate the beneficial role of MSRT in enhancing psychological and cognitive functions in children. Further, large-scale trials are warranted to ascertain the usefulness of the technique.     

正念的研究现状——基于ISI Web of Science数据库的CiteSpace分析

为总结当前正念研究的现状,探究未来的研究方向。利用可视化分析软件CiteSpaceⅢ对2009年-2018年ISI Web of Science数据库中7 395篇有关正念的文献进行作者、机构和关键词分析,挖掘正念研究领域的作者间、机构间合作情况和研究现状。结果显示,十年中正念研究领域内各作者多以小团体为单位进行合作,机构间的合作具有整体性,研究现状主要体现在正念的临床应用。     

Qualitative evidence for Resilience,Stress, and Ethnicity (RiSE): A program to address race-based stress among Black women at risk for cardiovascular disease

ObjectiveGrowing evidence demonstrates that perceived discrimination and racism are significant contributing factors to psychological distress, low-grade chronic inflammation, and cardiovascular health disparities among minorities, particularly among Black women. Despite this evidence, there are no evidence-based complementary therapy interventions available to ameliorate chronic stress associated with racism and discrimination. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of a novel, 8-week, group-based stress reduction program, Resilience, Stress and Ethnicity (RiSE), designed to help Black women at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) develop effective coping skills for dealing with chronic stress uniquely associated with being a minority.MethodsWe conducted two semi-structured focus groups with Black women (N = 22) following their participation in the 8-week RiSE program. We analyzed the data using constant comparative qualitative methods.ResultsAttrition rate was low (13%) with all participants attending at least 6 of the 8 classes. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with the program and the majority (81%) reported practicing the skills that they learned in real-life stressful situations. In describing the participants’ response to the program, four key categories emerged from the data: (1) Increasing awareness of stressors associated with perceived discrimination and racism; (2) Coping with race-based stressors; (3) Coping with other sources of stress; and (4) Increasing sense of empowerment and emotion regulation.ConclusionsFindings suggest that RiSE is feasible and effective in helping Black women at risk for CVD cope with chronic stress associated with being a minority. Given evidence that perceived discrimination and racism are underlying factors in many inflammatory-based chronic diseases, this research may have broader implications for reducing health disparities across a wide-spectrum of chronic illnesses in which women minorities are disproportionately affected.     

Dispositional mindfulness is predicted by structural development of the insula during late adolescence

Adolescence is a critical period of development, in which the increasing social and cognitive demands of independence need to be met by enhanced self-regulatory abilities. The cultivation of mindfulness has been associated with improved self-regulation in adult populations, and it is theorized that one neurodevelopmental mechanism that supports this capacity is the development of the prefrontal cortex. The current study examined the neurodevelopmental mechanisms associated with dispositional mindfulness in adolescence. Using a longitudinal within-persons design, 82 participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessments at approximately ages 16 and 19, and also completed self-reported measurements of mindfulness at age 19. It was hypothesized that adolescents who demonstrated greater thinning of frontal cortical regions between the age of 16 and 19 would exhibit higher dispositional mindfulness levels at age 19. Results indicated that, contrary to predictions, adolescents with higher levels of mindfulness demonstrated less thinning in the left anterior insula. By contrast, higher IQ was associated with greater thinning of the right caudal middle frontal and right superior frontal regions. The involvement of insula development in mindfulness is consistent with a direct role for this structure in managing self-regulation, and in doing so concords with recent models of self-referential interoceptive awareness.     

Mindfulness to regulate emotions: The Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence Program (PINEP) and its adaptation to a virtual learning platform

The present study examines the effect of the Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence Program (PINEP), adapted to the virtual learning platform Moodle where participants receive Mindfulness training in 12 sessions lasting an hour and a half. The sample consists of 89 people, assigned randomly to a control group on the waiting list and to an experimental group that undertakes the training. The results indicate that the participants who completed PINEP showed improvement in the variables of health, empathy and mindfulness, in comparison with the participants of the group on the waiting list.     

A Randomized Study Comparing Video-Based Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy With Video-Based Traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in a Sample of Women Struggling to Achieve Orgasm

IntroductionThis study examines the effectiveness of integrating mindfulness-based techniques within therapy for women suffering to achieve orgasm. Although widely applied in psychotherapy, this approach has only recently been introduced in the treatment of female sexual dysfunction.AimTo compare the effectiveness of a video-based self-administered treatment, rooted within the cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) framework, with a video-based self-administered mindfulness treatment applying cognitive behavioral sexual therapy (mindfulness-based cognitive therapy), the latter of which was specifically created to increase women's ability to achieve orgasm.MethodsA convenience sample of 65 women suffering from difficulties to achieve orgasm, aged 18 to 58 years (mean = 32.66, standard deviation = 9.48), were randomly allocated using a randomization procedure to either a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (N = 35) or CBT (N = 30) group. Each participant completed questionnaires before and after the start of treatment and 2 months after its completion.Main Outcome MeasureWe applied repeated-measure general linear models to compare the 2 groups (ie, between participant factor) on each dependent variable across time (ie, the within-participant factor). Compare mean analyses for paired samples were only conducted when the interaction effect between condition and time was significant (ie, P <.05).ResultsStatistical analyses show that women in both groups presented increased sexual functioning (P = .001) and decreased sexual distress (P < .001), as well as improved desire, arousal, orgasm, and sexual satisfaction (P < .05) after their respective treatments. Contrary to our hypothesis, significant reductions in sexual pain were only observed in CBT participants.Clinical ImplicationsTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to apply a randomized allocation procedure to evaluate the effectiveness of a video-based mindfulness intervention for women struggling to achieve orgasm. These results should guide clinicians' decisions with respect to evaluating the relevance and the real added value of proposing mindfulness exercises to their patients with such difficulties.ConclusionWhen women suffering from difficulties to achieve orgasm are randomly assigned to a mindfulness group or an active control, improvements in sexual functioning and reductions in sexual distress can be observed after both treatments.Adam F, De Sutter P, Day J, et al. A Randomized Study Comparing Video-Based Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy With Video-Based Traditional Cognitive Behavioral Treatment in a Sample of Women Struggling to Achieve Orgasm. J Sex Med 2020;17:312–324.