The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Brain Metabolism in the Limbic Regions Studied by Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

University Hospital, Tours30 enrolled

Overview

Stress reduction methods based on mindfulness meditation have been experiencing significant growth in various fields of society over the past twenty years. In the case of students, scientific work has shown that mindfulness training has a positive effect on their mental health and possibly on their academic performance through improved attention and memory. The effect of metamemory ("knowing what you know and what you don't know"), which plays an important part in students memorization and academic success, has not yet been explored. Changes in brain structure have been noted by MRI in some regions after several weeks of mindfulness training, but very few studies have yet looked at changes in brain metabolism that can be observed by the spectrocopy technique. The investigators will conduct a prospective randomized study with overall 30 female speech therapists student that will be enrolled and assigned randomly to two groups, in a 1:1 ratio : one groupe that will benefit from mindfulness training and the other group that will benefit from another method of stress reduction based on muscular relaxation. The programs will extend over 6 weeks with session of 2h30 per week in groups having personnal daily exercices (30-40' per day). During the 3 weeks leading up to and the 2 weeks following the program, students will take tests exploring memory and metamemory, complete mental health questionnaires, and have a magnetic resonance imaging with spectroscopic analysis.

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of a mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) program on the metabolism of regions involved in memorization (several limbic regions : hippocampus, amygdala, anterior and posterior cingulate) The study also aims to : 1. Study the effects of MBSR program on memory and metamemory. 2. Study correlations between MBSR program effects on metamemory and scores on mental health scales (anxiety, depression, perceived stress, burnout) 3. Study the correlations between MBSR program effects on memory and metamemory with those on attentional capacities, working memory, executive functions and emotion regulation 4. Investigate the relationship between brain metabolites variations and the effect of the MBSR program on episodic memory and metamemory capacities, attention and emotions 5. Investigate the relationship between metabolite concentrations variations and variations in volume and thickness of the cortex.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Interventions

6-week MBSR programBEHAVIORAL

Participants will follow a 6-week program of mindfulness meditation. MBSR teaches mindfulness meditation and mindful yoga exercises to develop non-judgmental awareness of moment-to-moment experience. The intervention duration is 6 weeks, with weekly two and half hours sessions. It will be delivered according to the fundamental concepts and specific techniques provided in the MBSR manualized protocol by Kabat-Zinn. The program also includes 30-min daily homework exercises. MBSR teaches four main mindfulness practices: (1) body scan, a process of moving attention through the body; (2) mindful movement, consisting of gentle yoga stretches to develop awareness of body in movement; (3) sitting meditation; and (4) walking meditation. Inquiry and didactic teaching is also a part of MBSR and allows for some detailed exploration of participants' experiences.

6-week muscular relaxation programBEHAVIORAL

Control group : This group will follow a 6-week program of progressive muscle relaxation training in order to learn achieving a deep relaxation of the body through voluntary tensing and relaxing muscles. It proceeds by the individual sequentially tensing and then releasing specific groups of muscles throughout the body, and noticing how tension feels relative to relaxation. The accomplishment of physical relaxation promotes mental calmness in a parallel manner. This program is based on the work of Bernstein and Borkovec and Jacobson, and will be structured in 6-week group with weekly two and half hours sessions and out-of-session assignments for at-home practice (30-min daily).

Eligibility

Sex: FEMALEMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 30 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: Female * Right-handed * ≥ 18 years old * Affiliated to a social security scheme * Written consent signed by the participan Exclusion Criteria: * Inability to complete the entire study programme * Previous participation in an MBSR or MBCT programme * Current neurological pathology * Current psychiatric pathology, score ≥ 3 on the PHQ-4 self-questionnaire * Previous or ongoing psychological or psychiatric treatment * Previous or current psychotropic treatment * Usual contraindications to brain MRI (including claustrophobia, ocular metallic foreign body, pacemaker, neurostimulator, cochlear implants (or non-removable electronic medical equipment), old generation heart valves, vascular clips previously implanted on a cranial aneurysm). * Pregnancy * During the exclusion period of a clinical research study * Under legal protection or deprived of liberty.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change from Baseline in Glumatate concentrations (mM) at 8 Weeks

Glumatate concentrations (mM) are measured by magnetic resonance spectrocopy in left hippocampal formation