ISNR
The Interational Society of Neurofeedback & Research
Melissa Day, PhD, MA (CLIN)
Dr. Melissa Day completed her MA(Clin) and PhD at the University of Alabama, followed by her Clinical Psychology residency at the University of Washington. Dr. Day then undertook a post-doctoral research fellowship in pain psychology, also at the University of Washington. She is now a licensed Clinical Psychologist in Australia and most recently, was awarded a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Research Fellowship, which she is completing within the School of Psychology at The University of Queensland. Dr. Day’s program of research has focused on implementing randomized controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy and mechanisms of cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness-based interventions for chronic pain conditions. She recently published a sole authored book with Wiley titled, “
Topic: Pain/Mindfulness
Presentation Title: The effects and mechanisms of mindfulness meditation, cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for chronic low back pain
Thursday, October 18 at 11:30 AM
Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a pervasive, costly, and highly disabling condition. Research has shown that CLBP is inadequately managed solely by biomedical approaches alone. Thus, current guidelines put forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US recommend non-pharmacological therapy as the first line approach to chronic pain management. In this context, there is evidence that Cognitive Therapy (CT) and mindfulness meditation (MM) programs are beneficial for a range of CLBP-related outcomes. Although not previously tested for CLBP management, evidence in other pain populations suggests that Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) – which seamlessly integrates CT and MM techniques – might also be particularly well suited for improving pain, mood and function.
An expanding body of research is investigating the potential neuormodulatory function of these psychosocial pain treatments. Although scarce research has examined brain-state related changes in the context of CT and MBCT for pain, within MM, several studies in pain samples have used electroencephalogram (EEG) at pre- and post-treatment to test the possible role of brain activity changes in association with improved pain-related outcomes. Results found MM was associated with power increases primarily in the alpha band, and this increase in alpha was suggested to play a key role in the effects of MM on pain. It is not known however if this potential neuromodulatory pathway is unique to MM as delivered as an isolated technique, or if it might also play a role in other similarly efficacious treatments, such as CT and MBCT.
In this plenary session I will present data from a recently completed randomized controlled trial comparing MM versus CT versus MBCT within a CLBP sample. Treatment consisted of eight weekly, 2-hour group-delivered sessions. EEG brain state data was obtained at pre- and post-treatment, as was self-reported pain related outcome measures of pain interference, pain intensity, physical function and depression. I will present (1) the treatment-related changes in the self-reported outcomes, (2) an analysis of change in brain activity across the three treatments, and (3) how potential changes in brain state are associated with changes in the self-reported outcomes.
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