Presented at ACBS World Conference 12, Minneapolis, MN, USA, 2014
Mindfulness involves nonjudgmental attention to present-moment experience. In its therapeutic forms, mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions promote increased tolerance of negative affect and improved well-being. However, the neural mechanisms underlying mindful mood regulation are poorly understood. Mindfulness training appears to enhance attentional monitoring systems in the brain, supported by the anterior cingulate and lateral prefrontal cortices. In emotion regulation, this prefrontal training seems to promote the stable recruitment of a non-conceptual sensory pathway, an alternative to conventional cognitive reappraisal strategies. Limiting cognitive elaboration, both neurally and via therapeutic emphases, in favor of momentary awareness appears to reduce automatic negative self-evaluation, increase tolerance for negative affect and pain, and help to engender selfcompassion and empathy.