Neural activations during self-related processing in patients with chronic pain and effects of a brief self-compassion training - A pilot study
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Authors
Lutz, JacquelineBerry, Michael P.
Napadow, Vitaly
Germer, Christopher
Pollak, Susan
Gardiner, Paula
Edwards, Robert R.
Desbordes, Gaelle
Schuman-Olivier, Zev
UMass Chan Affiliations
Center for Integrated Primary CareDepartment of Family Medicine and Community Health
Document Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2020-07-30Keywords
corticial midline regionsdorsolateral prefrontal cortex
emotion regulation
fMRI
insula
pain
prefrontal cortex
self-compassion
self-criticism
self-related processes
Cognition and Perception
Health Services Administration
Health Services Research
Neuroscience and Neurobiology
Pain Management
Psychiatry and Psychology
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Chronic pain negatively affects psychological functioning including self-perception. Self-compassion may improve self-related functioning in patients with chronic pain but understanding of the neural mechanisms is limited. In this study, twenty patients with chronic low back pain read negative self-related situations and were instructed to be either self-reassuring or self-critical while undergoing fMRI. Patients rated their feelings of self-reassurance and self-criticism during each condition, and brain responses were contrasted with neutral instructions. Trait self-compassion measures (SCS) were also acquired. Brain activations during self-criticism and self-reassurance were localized to prefrontal, self- and emotion-processing areas, such as medial prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and posterior cingulate cortex. Self-reassurance resulted in more widespread and stronger activations relative to self-criticism. Patients then completed a brief self-compassion training (8 contact hours, 2 weeks home practice). Exploratory pre-post comparisons in thirteen patients found that feelings of self-criticism were significantly reduced and brain activations were greater in the anterior insula and prefrontal cortical regions such as dlPFC. Pre-post increases in dlPFC activation correlated with increased self-compassion (SCS), suggesting that early self-compassion skills might primarily target self-criticism via dlPFC upregulation. Future controlled studies on self-compassion training in chronic pain populations should extend these results.Source
Lutz J, Berry MP, Napadow V, Germer C, Pollak S, Gardiner P, Edwards RR, Desbordes G, Schuman-Olivier Z. Neural activations during self-related processing in patients with chronic pain and effects of a brief self-compassion training - A pilot study. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2020 Oct 30;304:111155. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2020.111155. Epub 2020 Jul 30. PMID: 32799058. Link to article on publisher's site
DOI
10.1016/j.pscychresns.2020.111155Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/29590PubMed ID
32799058Related Resources
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.pscychresns.2020.111155