# Neurobehavioral Targets of Mindfulness in Youth At Risk for Mood Disorders

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2024 · $793,768

## Abstract

Mood lability, defined as frequent and exaggerated changes in mood, is an important transdiagnostic symptom
that causes significant impairment and increases suicide risk. This symptom is a common precursor to mood
disorder onset, particularly in youth at familial risk. Since adolescence is a peak period for mood disorder onset
and an important window of neural plasticity, it may be an optimal time for an intervention to decrease mood
lability. Meta-analyses in youth have found that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) decrease mood
symptoms and improve emotion/behavioral dysregulation, constructs closely related to mood lability; however,
neural/behavioral mechanisms of these effects are unknown. It is essential to understand how and for whom
MBIs work, to design interventions that more efficiently engage appropriate targets and deliver treatment to those
most likely to benefit. In adults, MBIs have been shown to increase resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC)
between the posterior cingulate (PCC) and the frontoparietal control network (FPCN), neural circuitry which may
subserve awareness of mind-wandering. A behavioral indicator of unintentional mind-wandering, errors on the
Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART), has also been found to decrease following MBIs. Since
unintentional mind-wandering amplifies negative affect, awareness of mind-wandering may facilitate the adaptive
use of emotion regulation strategies, leading to improved stress response and decreased mood lability. Indeed,
previous studies have linked increased PCC-FPCN rsFC to downstream effects of decreased anxiety and
depression; and our recent pilot study in youth found that MBI-related increases in PCC-FPCN rsFC predicted
later decreases in mood lability. Given these promising pilot data, the next step is to conduct a randomized
controlled trial to assess MBI-specific effects on mind-wandering related targets and mood lability. In a sample
of 100 adolescents (11-13 years old) with mood lability and a parent with a major mood disorder, we propose to
test whether: (1) an 8-week MBI (vs. control) modifies mind-wandering-related targets (PCC-FPCN rsFC, SART
performance); (2) changes in mind-wandering measures lead to less mood lability; and (3) intake mind-
wandering measures predict differential MBI benefit. Participants will be randomized – stratified on non-mood
DSM-5 diagnosis and sex-by-pubertal status – to an 8-week MBI or control. We will scan youth before, 4 weeks
into, immediately after, and 3 months after intervention to assess longitudinal relationships amongst changes in
PCC-FPCN rsFC and behavioral/clinical measures. Behavioral/clinical outcomes will also be assessed at 9
months post-intervention. We will assess mood lability via self-report and ecological momentary assessment,
focusing on variability in negative affect and ability to sustain positive mood. This design will allow us to assess,
with temporal precision and across levels of analysis, the impa...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10791904
- **Project number:** 5R01MH127021-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Danella Marie Hafeman
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $793,768
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-04-21 → 2027-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10791904

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10791904, Neurobehavioral Targets of Mindfulness in Youth At Risk for Mood Disorders (5R01MH127021-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10791904. Licensed CC0.

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