MEG Study of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

In this study, investigators will randomly assign volunteers to one of two conditions: (1) attend classes to learn MBSR (2) be on a waitlist on which volunteers will continue your activities until the conclusion of the study, at which point they will be offered free MBSR training. The MBSR class and the body scan classes will be videotape-recorded in order to ensure that the instruction meets study standards. Since the videotape will capture your image and voice, you will be identifiable. However, this videotape will only be viewed by HIPAA certified study staff; it will be stored in a locked drawer and will be destroyed 36 months after the completion of the study.

Random assignment works like the flip of a coin. A volunteer has a 1 in 3 chance of receiving MBSR, being asked to continue with his or her normal life, or being asked to practice body scanning. At any time and for any reason at all a volunteer may decide to withdraw from the study. Data about volunteers' experiences, brain structure, and function collected from this study will be stored by investigators at the Osher Institute, Harvard Medical School.

If a volunteer is randomly assigned to receive MBSR, he or she will be asked to attend 8 class sessions of training which will last 2 hours each. He or she will also be asked to attend a 5 hour retreat. In MBSR classes, you will receive instruction in mindfulness based body scan meditation. In addition, a subject assigned to MBSR will receive instruction in sitting meditation and in gentle yoga. Participants in both classes will also be asked to reflect on their meditation experiences during class and will be asked to consider carrying out a home practice during the week, outside of class. MBSR and body scan classes will meet at a meditation class facility convenient to a red line T stop in Cambridge.

Study assessment visits to the Martinos Center facility in Charlestown

In this study, there are 3 study assessment visits to the Martinos Center facility in Charlestown in which volunteers will be asked questions about their daily experience. At all 3 study visits, investigators will also record magnetic field readings of the brain using a non-invasive imaging technique known as magnetoencephalography (MEG). MEG is a technique that measures the small electrical currents produced when cells in the brain are active. This activity is sometimes called "brain waves."