Mindfulness training modifies cognitive, affective, and physiological mechanisms implicated in alcohol dependence: results of a randomized controlled pilot trial

Abstract

Mindfulness training may disrupt the risk chain of stress-precipitated alcohol relapse. In 2008, 53 alcohol-dependent adults (mean age = 40.3) recruited from a therapeutic community located in the urban southeastern U.S. were randomized to mindfulness training or a support group. Most participants were male (79.2%), African American (60.4%), and earned less than $20,000 annually (52.8%). Self-report measures, psychophysiological cue-reactivity, and alcohol attentional bias were analyzed via repeated measures ANOVA. Thirty-seven participants completed the interventions. Mindfulness training significantly reduced stress and thought suppression, increased physiological recovery from alcohol cues, and modulated alcohol attentional bias. Hence, mindfulness training appears to target key mechanisms implicated in alcohol dependence, and therefore may hold promise as an alternative treatment for stress-precipitated relapse among vulnerable members of society.

Figures

Figure 1

Intervention group differences in perceived stress at baseline and 10-weeks post-intervention

Figure 2

Intervention group differences in thought suppression at baseline and 10-weeks post-intervention.

Figure 3

Intervention group differences in 200 ms AB at baseline, 5-week intervention midpoint, and 10-weeks post-intervention for participants with alcohol approach attentional bias.

Figure 4

Intervention group differences in post-treatment HRV (RMSSD, log10)* during stress-primed alcohol cue-reactivity protocol. * This figure depicts mean RMSSD, log10, across experimental conditions after covarying prior level of alcohol consumption and post-treatment perceived stress