Meditation with art therapy can change brain activity and lower anxiety in cancer patients

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For women with breast cancer, combining creative art therapy with Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in an 8-week program changed brain activity in ways that are associated with lower stress and anxiety.

Cancer and stress go hand-in-hand, and high stress levels can lead to poorer health outcomes in cancer patients. Previously, lead author Daniel Monti, MD, of the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine has published on the success of Mindfulness-based Art Therapy (MBAT) in helping cancer patients lower stress levels and improve quality of life.

“Our goal was to observe possible mechanisms for the observed psychosocial effects of MBAT by evaluating the cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes associated with an MBAT intervention in comparison with a control of equal time and attention,” said Monti. “This type of expressive art and meditation program has never before been studied for physiological impact and the correlation of that impact to…