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

Abstract

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‐based cognitive therapy is associated with distinct resting‐state neural patterns in patients with generalized anxiety disorder

“…The possible mechanism may be due to the increased mindfulness ability of the patients after MBCT, and it promotes the perception and acceptance of somatic discomfort, which contributes to the alleviation of anxiety. This is consistent with previous reports that mindfulness may be related to unique structural and functional changes in the insular cortex (Friedel et al, ; Laneri et al, ; Mooneyham et al, ; Murakami, Nakao, Matsunaga, & Ohira, ).…”

Gray Matter Changes in Adolescents Participating in a Meditation Training

“…Structural differences in the insula (insular cortex) are one of the most well-replicated findings amongst morphometric studies of meditation (Lazar et al, 2005;Hölzel et al, 2008;Luders et al, 2012;Murakami et al, 2012;Friedel et al, 2015). The insula is crucial for interoception, that is, one's sense of one's internal physiological state (Craig, 2002).…”

“…These unique developmental trajectories suggest that the findings from adult meditation studies may not translate to the adolescent population. Currently, only Friedel et al ( 2015 ) have published structural findings in adolescents related to trait mindfulness. The authors found that trait mindfulness (measured at 19 years) was associated with less cortical thinning in the left anterior insula (AI) between mid- and late adolescence.…”

Mindfulness, Interoception, and the Body: A Contemporary Perspective

“…Neuroimaging studies have shown that mindfulness meditations produce neuroplasticity changes in the brain, which appear to support those functional changes. Mindfulness has been shown to produce neuroplasticity effects in a number of different brain regions, but relevant to this article are the changes found in the default mode network (DMN; Hölzel et al, 2011) and the interoceptive network that spans various brain regions, which include the insular cortex, cingulate cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, and the sensorimotor cortex (Craig, 2002, 2009; Critchley et al, 2004; Farb et al, 2007, 2013; Friedel et al, 2015; García-Cordero et al, 2016; Haase et al, 2016; Pollatos et al, 2016).…”