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Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Advance Access published online on September 23, 2009
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, doi:10.1093/scan/nsp034
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© The Author (2009). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala

Britta K. Hölzel1,2, James Carmody3, Karleyton C. Evans1, Elizabeth A. Hoge4, Jeffery A. Dusek5,6, Lucas Morgan1, Roger K. Pitman1 and Sara W. Lazar1

1Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA, 2Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus-Liebig Universität Giessen, 35394 Giessen, Germany, 3University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, 4Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114 and 5Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Penny George Institute for Health and Healing, Minneapolis, MN 55407, USA, 6Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA

Stress has significant adverse effects on health and is a risk factor for many illnesses. Neurobiological studies have implicated the amygdala as a brain structure crucial in stress responses. Whereas hyperactive amygdala function is often observed during stress conditions, cross-sectional reports of differences in gray matter structure have been less consistent. We conducted a longitudinal MRI study to investigate the relationship between changes in perceived stress with changes in amygdala gray matter density following a stress-reduction intervention. Stressed but otherwise healthy individuals (N = 26) participated in an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention. Perceived stress was rated on the perceived stress scale (PSS) and anatomical MR images were acquired pre- and post-intervention. PSS change was used as the predictive regressor for changes in gray matter density within the bilateral amygdalae. Following the intervention, participants reported significantly reduced perceived stress. Reductions in perceived stress correlated positively with decreases in right basolateral amygdala gray matter density. Whereas prior studies found gray matter modifications resulting from acquisition of abstract information, motor and language skills, this study demonstrates that neuroplastic changes are associated with improvements in a psychological state variable.

Keywords: stress; amygdala; gray matter; MRI; mindfulness

Correspondence should be addressed to Britta K. Hölzel, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. E-mail: britta{at}nmr.mgh.harvard.edu

Received December 17, 2008. Accepted August 6, 2009.


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