Modifying Resilience Mechanisms in At-Risk Individuals: A Controlled Study of Mindfulness Training in Marines Preparing for Deployment

Marines who had first received Mindfulness-Based Mind Fitness Training, which can affect brain structures integral to the body’s response to stress, experienced quicker heart rate and breathing rate recovery, improved sleep quality, and lower levels of neuropeptide Y after stressful combat training...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of psychiatry 2014-08, Vol.171 (8), p.844-853
Main Authors: Johnson, Douglas C., Thom, Nathaniel J., Stanley, Elizabeth A., Haase, Lori, Simmons, Alan N., Shih, Pei-an B., Thompson, Wesley K., Potterat, Eric G., Minor, Thomas R., Paulus, Martin P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brain - physiology
Functional Neuroimaging
Heart Rate - physiology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Mental health
Military deployment
Military personnel
Military Personnel - psychology
Mindfulness
Neuropeptide Y - blood
Resilience, Psychological
Respiration
Stress, Psychological - blood
Stress, Psychological - physiopathology
Stress, Psychological - prevention & control
Stress, Psychological - therapy
Young Adult
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Summary:Marines who had first received Mindfulness-Based Mind Fitness Training, which can affect brain structures integral to the body’s response to stress, experienced quicker heart rate and breathing rate recovery, improved sleep quality, and lower levels of neuropeptide Y after stressful combat training than a comparison group without the intervention. ObjectiveMilitary deployment can have profound effects on physical and mental health. Few studies have examined whether interventions prior to deployment can improve mechanisms underlying resilience. Mindfulness-based techniques have been shown to aid recovery from stress and may affect brain-behavior relationships prior to deployment. The authors examined the effect of mindfulness training on resilience mechanisms in active-duty Marines preparing for deployment.MethodEight Marine infantry platoons (N=281) were randomly selected. Four platoons were assigned to receive mindfulness training (N=147) and four were assigned to a training-as-usual control condition (N=134). Platoons were assessed at baseline, 8 weeks after baseline, and during and after a stressful combat training session approximately 9 weeks after baseline. The mindfulness training condition was delivered in the form of 8 weeks of Mindfulness-Based Mind Fitness Training (MMFT), a program comprising 20 hours of classroom instruction plus daily homework exercises. MMFT emphasizes interoceptive awareness, attentional control, and tolerance of present-moment experiences. The main outcome measures were heart rate, breathing rate, plasma neuropeptide Y concentration, score on the Response to Stressful Experiences Scale, and brain activation as measured by functional MRI.ResultsMarines who received MMFT showed greater reactivity (heart rate [d=0.43]) and enhanced recovery (heart rate [d=0.67], breathing rate [d=0.93]) after stressful training; lower plasma neuropeptide Y concentration after stressful training (d=0.38); and attenuated blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal in the right insula and anterior cingulate.ConclusionsThe results show that mechanisms related to stress recovery can be modified in healthy individuals prior to stress exposure, with important implications for evidence-based mental health research and treatment.
ISSN:0002-953X
1535-7228
DOI:10.1176/appi.ajp.2014.13040502