Treves Isaac N, Marusak Hilary A, Decker Alexandra, Kucyi Aaron, Hubbard Nicholas A, Bauer Clemens C C, Leonard Julia, Grotzinger Hannah, Giebler Melissa A, Torres Yesi Camacho, Imhof Andrea, Romeo Rachel, Calhoun Vince D, Gabrieli John D E
McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci. 2024 Jul 23;4(6):100367. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2024.100367. eCollection 2024 Nov.
Trait mindfulness-the tendency to attend to present-moment experiences without judgment-is negatively correlated with adolescent anxiety and depression. Understanding the neural mechanisms that underlie trait mindfulness may inform the neural basis of psychiatric disorders. However, few studies have identified brain connectivity states that are correlated with trait mindfulness in adolescence, and they have not assessed the reliability of such states.
To address this gap in knowledge, we rigorously assessed the reliability of brain states across 2 functional magnetic resonance imaging scans from 106 adolescents ages 12 to 15 (50% female). We performed both static and dynamic functional connectivity analyses and evaluated the test-retest reliability of how much time adolescents spent in each state. For the reliable states, we assessed associations with self-reported trait mindfulness.
Higher trait mindfulness correlated with lower anxiety and depression symptoms. Static functional connectivity (intraclass correlation coefficients 0.31-0.53) was unrelated to trait mindfulness. Among the dynamic brains states that we identified, most were unreliable within individuals across scans. However, one state, a hyperconnected state of elevated positive connectivity between networks, showed good reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.65). We found that the amount of time that adolescents spent in this hyperconnected state positively correlated with trait mindfulness.
By applying dynamic functional connectivity analysis on over 100 resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans, we identified a highly reliable brain state that correlated with trait mindfulness. This brain state may reflect a state of mindfulness, or awareness and arousal more generally, which may be more pronounced in people who are higher in trait mindfulness.
特质正念——即不加评判地关注当下体验的倾向——与青少年焦虑和抑郁呈负相关。了解特质正念背后的神经机制可能有助于揭示精神疾病的神经基础。然而，很少有研究确定与青少年特质正念相关的脑连接状态，并且他们没有评估这些状态的可靠性。
为了填补这一知识空白，我们对106名12至15岁青少年（50%为女性）的两次功能磁共振成像扫描中的脑状态可靠性进行了严格评估。我们进行了静态和动态功能连接分析，并评估了青少年在每种状态下所花费时间的重测可靠性。对于可靠状态，我们评估了与自我报告的特质正念的关联。
较高的特质正念与较低的焦虑和抑郁症状相关。静态功能连接（组内相关系数为0.31 - 0.53）与特质正念无关。在我们识别出的动态脑状态中，大多数在个体扫描之间是不可靠的。然而，一种状态，即网络之间正向连接增强的超连接状态，显示出良好的可靠性（组内相关系数 = 0.65）。我们发现青少年在这种超连接状态下所花费的时间与特质正念呈正相关。
通过对100多次静息态功能磁共振成像扫描应用动态功能连接分析，我们识别出一种与特质正念相关的高度可靠的脑状态。这种脑状态可能反映了一种正念状态，或者更普遍地说是意识和觉醒状态，在特质正念较高的人群中可能更为明显。
