Mindfulness refers to attending to moment-to-moment experiences with acceptance and no judgment. Several scales have been developed to quantify different components of mindfulness. The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) is particularly sensitive to trait mindfulness and is proposed to measure the attentional component of mindfulness. The purpose of the current study was to identify the neural correlates of the MAAS in four resting state networks related to attention—the default mode network (DMN), the salience network (SN), and the left and right central executive network (lCEN and rCEN). Thirty-two university students naïve to mindfulness completed the MAAS and later underwent a resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Resting state data were analyzed using an independent component analysis; the scores from the MAAS were co-varied to the connectivity maps in an analysis of co-variance. The results indicate that variations in MAAS scores correlated with variations in functional connectivity patterns in resting state networks. Specifically, within the SN and CEN, the MAAS was negatively correlated with functional connectivity in the precuneus, even though the precuneus is a key component of the DMN. Negative correlations in the DMN between the MAAS and the insula and in the SN between the MAAS and the posterior cingulate cortex were also observed. These results suggest MAAS scores (1) are correlated with the functional connectivity of several brain structures related to attention, and (2) involve cross-network functional connectivity.

Emotional empathy is the ability to experience and/or share another person’s emotional states and responses. Although some research has examined the neural correlates of emotional empathy, there has been little research investigating whether this component of empathy is related to the functional connectivity of resting state networks in the brain. In the current study, 32 participants answered a trait emotional empathy questionnaire in a session previous to their functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Results indicate that emotional empathy scores were correlated with different patterns of functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and left and right central executive networks. For example, within the DMN, emotional empathy scores positively correlated with connectivity in the premotor cortex. Within the SN, empathy scores were positively correlated with the fusiform gyrus and cuneus. These findings demonstrate that emotional empathy is associated with unique patterns of functional connectivity in four of the brain’s resting state networks.

Dissociative symptoms and suicidality are transdiagnostic features of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD). The primary objective of this study was to examine associations between dissociation (i.e., depersonalization and derealization) and suicidality (i.e., self‐harm and suicide attempts) among individuals with PTSD and BPD. We analyzed data from the 2012–2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC‐III; N = 36,309). The Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule for DSM‐5 was used to assess lifetime PTSD and BPD. Estimated rates of self‐harm among individuals who endorsed dissociation were 15.5%–26.2% for those with PTSD and 13.7%–23.5% for those with BPD, and estimates of suicide attempts among individuals who endorsed dissociation were 34.5%–38.1% for those with PTSD and 28.3%–33.1% for those with BPD. Multiple logistic regressions were conducted to examine the associations between dissociation (derealization, depersonalization, and both) and both self‐harm and suicide attempts among respondents with PTSD and BPD. The results indicated that dissociation was associated with self‐harm and suicide attempts, especially among individuals with BPD, aORs = 1.39–2.66; however, this association may be driven in part by a third variable, such as other symptoms of PTSD or BPD (e.g., mood disturbance, PTSD or BPD symptom severity). These results may inform risk assessments and targeted interventions for vulnerable individuals with PTSD, BPD, or both aimed at mitigating the risk of self‐harm and suicide.

Objective: To assess the neural activity associated with mindfulness-based alterations of pain perception. Methods: The Cochrane Central, EMBASE, Ovid Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched on 2 February 2016. Titles, abstracts, and full-text articles were independently screened by two reviewers. Data were independently extracted from records that included topics of functional neuroimaging, pain, and mindfulness interventions. Results: The literature search produced 946 total records, of which five met the inclusion criteria. Records reported pain in terms of anticipation (n = 2), unpleasantness (n = 5), and intensity (n = 5), and how mindfulness conditions altered the neural activity during noxious stimulation accordingly. Conclusions: Although the studies were inconsistent in relating pain components to neural activity, in general, mindfulness was able to reduce pain anticipation and unpleasantness ratings, as well as alter the corresponding neural activity. The major neural underpinnings of mindfulness-based pain reduction consisted of altered activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.