Revue des effets de la méditation de pleine conscience sur la santé mentale et physique et sur ses mécanismes d’action

Abstract

Les interventions basées sur la pleine conscience deviennent de plus en plus populaires. Le présent article présente une recension de ses effets sur la santé mentale et physique, des mécanismes d’action et des recherches en neurobiologie.Interventions based on mindfulness have become increasingly popular. This article reviews the empirical literature on its effects on mental and physical health, discusses presumed mechanisms of action as well as its proposed neurobiological underpinning. Mindfulness is associated with increased well-being as well as reduced cognitive reactivity and behavioral avoidance. It seems to contribute to enhance immune functions, diminish inflammation, diminish the reactivity of the autonomic nervous system, increase telomerase activity, lead to higher levels of plasmatic melatonin and serotonin. It enhances the quality of life for patients suffering from chronic pain, fibromylagia and HIV infection. It facilitates adaptation to the diagnosis of cancer and diabetes. It seems to lead to symptomatic improvement in irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, hot flashes, insomnia, stress related hyperphagia. It diminishes craving in substance abuse. The proposed mechanism of action are enhanced metacognitive conscience, interoceptive exposure, experiential acceptance, self-management, attention control, memory, relaxation. Six mechanism of actions for which neurological underpinnings have been published are: attention regulation (anterior cingulate cortex), body awareness (insula, temporoparietal junction), emotion regulation (modulation of the amygdala by the lateral prefrontal cortex), cognitive re-evaluation (activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex or diminished activity in prefrontal regions), exposure/extinction/reconsolidation (ventromedial prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala) and flexible self-concept (prefrontal median cortex, posterior cingulated cortex, insula, temporoparietal junction). The neurobiological effects of meditation are described. These are: (1) the deactivation of the default mode network that generates spontaneous thoughts, contributes to the maintenance of the autobiographical self and is associated with anxiety and depression; (2) the anterior cingulate cortex that underpins attention functions; (3) the anterior insula associated with the perception of visceral sensation, the detection of heartbeat and respiratory rate, and the affective response to pain; (4) the posterior cingulate cortex which helps to understand the context from which a stimulus emerges; (5) the temporoparietal junction which assumes a central role in empathy and compassion; (6) the amygdala implicated in fear responses. The article ends with a short review of the empirical basis supporting the efficacy for mindfulness based intervention and suggested directions for future research

Lifestyle factors, demographics and medications associated with depression risk in an international sample of people with multiple sclerosis

“…Numerous neurobiological mechanisms underpin the benefits of meditation for mental health, including attention and emotional regulation, cognitive re-evaluation and body awareness. Mindfulness meditation also holds benefit for physical health for people with MS by improving immune function and reducing inflammation [ 75 ].…”

Mindfulness and Empathy: Mediating Factors and Gender Differences in a Spanish Sample

“…Hölzel et al (2011) found that the daily practice of 30 min of meditation increased the density of gray matter in the brain regions associated with empathy. Numerous studies have found this benefit (Greason and Cashwell, 2009;Birnie et al, 2010;De la Fuente-Anuncibay et al, 2019;Ngô, 2013;Shapiro et al, 1998). Nevertheless, several studies question this positive effect in the improvement of empathy when practicing mindfulness (Beddoe and Murphy, 2004;Dekeyser et al, 2008;Ridderinkhof et al, 2017).…”

Uma Estratégia de Redução do Estresse entre Estudantes Médicos

“…Inicialmente, a aplicação do questionário PPS mostrou que, apesar de o grupo intervenção apresentar piores resultados em relação à percepção do estresse (32) do que o grupo controle (27,5), essa diferença não foi estatisticamente significante (p = 0,084) entre os estudantes antes do curso Redemed © (Tabela 3).…”

“…Entretanto, após os oito encontros semanais, o grupo intervenção apresentou melhora significativa (p = 0,030) por conta da redução na soma da pontuação fornecida pelo instrumento aplicado (24), enquanto os resultados do grupo controle permaneceram praticamente inalterados (27,5), como pode ser observado na Tabela 3.…”