Mindfulness meditation and relaxation response affect brain differently
A variety of meditation-based programs have been developed in recent years to reduce stress and medical symptoms and to promote wellness. One lingering question is to what extent these programs are similar or different. In a study published in the June issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers, in collaboration with members of the two leading mind-body stress-reduction programs, documents the different effects these mind-body practices have in the brain. There are two widely used meditation-based stress-reduction courses. One is based on “The Relaxation Response” — first described by Herbert Benson, director emeritus of the MGH-based Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine — which focuses on eliciting a physiologic state of deep rest, the opposite of the “fight or flight” stress response. The other is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, which emphasizes a particular, nonjudgmental attitude...