Research Article
Mechanistic Pathways of Mindfulness Meditation in Combat Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Helané Wahbeh,
Elena Goodrich, Elizabeth Goy, Barry S. Oken,
Corresponding Author
Helané Wahbeh
Oregon Health & Science University
National College of Natural Medicine
Please address correspondence to: Helané Wahbeh, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road CR120, Portland, Oregon 97239. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorHelané Wahbeh,
Elena Goodrich, Elizabeth Goy, Barry S. Oken,
Corresponding Author
Helané Wahbeh
Oregon Health & Science University
National College of Natural Medicine
Please address correspondence to: Helané Wahbeh, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road CR120, Portland, Oregon 97239. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorWe thank Roger Ellingson, Jennifer Bishop, Joshua Leventhal, and Tabatha Memmott for their help with this project. We thank all the Veterans who participated in the study.
Research reported in this publication was supported by National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number UL1TR000128 and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health [grant numbers T32AT002688, K01AT004951, K24AT005121].
The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
None of the authors have financial or other conflicts of interest related to this work.
Abstract
Objective
This study's objective was to evaluate the effect of two common components of meditation (mindfulness and slow breathing) on potential mechanistic pathways.
Methods
A total of 102 combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were randomized to (a) the body scan mindfulness meditation (MM), (b) slow breathing (SB) with a biofeedback device, (c) mindful awareness of the breath with an intention to slow the breath (MM+SB), or (d) sitting quietly (SQ). Participants had 6 weekly one-on-one sessions with 20 minutes of daily home practice. The mechanistic pathways and measures were as follows: (a) autonomic nervous system (hyperarousal symptoms, heart rate [HR], and heart rate variability [HRV]); (b) frontal cortex activity (attentional network task [ANT] conflict effect and event-related negativity and intrusive thoughts); and (c) hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (awakening cortisol). PTSD measures were also evaluated.
Results
Meditation participants had significant but modest within-group improvement in PTSD and related symptoms, although there were no effects between groups. Perceived impression of PTSD symptom improvement was greater in the meditation arms compared with controls. Resting respiration decreased in the meditation arms compared with SQ. For the mechanistic pathways, (a) subjective hyperarousal symptoms improved within-group (but not between groups) for MM, MM+SB, and SQ, while HR and HRV did not; (b) intrusive thoughts decreased in MM compared with MM+SB and SB, while the ANT measures did not change; and (c) MM had lower awakening cortisol within-group (but not between groups).
Conclusion
Treatment effects were mostly specific to self-report rather than physiological measures. Continued research is needed to further evaluate mindfulness meditation's mechanism in people with PTSD.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| jclp22255-sup-0001-Table1.docx22 KB | Supplemental Table 1 |
| jclp22255-sup-0002-Table2.docx18.3 KB | Supplemental Table 2 |
| jclp22255-sup-0003-SupMat.docx73.8 KB | Measure properties in alphabetical order. |
| jclp22255-sup-0004-SupplementalData.docx73.6 KB | Measure properties in alphabetical order. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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