Time, Touch, Attention and the Autonomic Nervous System

NCT01428674 — Not applicable, Completed, 20 participants, Wake Forest University

ClinicalTrials Daily · Areas · Conditions · Drugs · Sponsors ·

The Impact of Interpersonal Mindful Compassion on Autonomic Nervous System Function

Registry	NCT01428674
Status	Completed
Phase	Not applicable
Study type	Interventional; randomized, parallel, masking: single, treatment
Enrollment	20 (Actual)
Sponsor	Wake Forest University (Other)
Conditions	Stress
Interventions	Interpersonal Mindful Compassion with Touch, Reading while extending loving kindness (Other)
Dates	start 2011-02-01, primary completion 2011-06-01, completion 2011-06-01, first posted 2011-09-05, last updated 2018-08-15

-Summary

The purpose of this study is to describe the onset, duration and dose-response of interpersonal mindful compassion on respiratory rate and heart rate variability in healthy adults in order to prepare for research evaluating the impact of this intervention in patient populations and to prepare for basic research investigating the CNS mechanisms for observed effects.

Previous research has found that mindfulness meditation, including mindful compassion, results in autonomic changes in the practitioner. Emerging neuroscience of dyadic interactions suggests that through the effects of mirror neuron isopraxis, one person's physiologic state may be mirrored by another. However, no research has directly evaluated the impact of one person's mindful compassion on another person's autonomic activity. This study paves the way for an entirely new avenue of research inquiry.

Expand all sections · Collapse all

+Arms and interventions

Arm	Type	Interventions
10 minutes reading	Experimental	Other: Reading while extending loving kindness
20 minutes touch	Experimental	Other: Interpersonal Mindful Compassion with Touch
20 minutes reading	Experimental	Other: Reading while extending loving kindness
10 minutes touch	Experimental	Other: Interpersonal Mindful Compassion with Touch

Interpersonal Mindful Compassion with Touch (Other): A practitioner lightly touches the participant on the hands, arms, shoulders, lower legs and feet while extending loving kindness to the participant.
Reading while extending loving kindness (Other): The practitioner sits in a room with the participant, pretending to read, while extending loving kindness to the participant.

+Outcome measures

Primary outcomes

Change in Heart Rate Variability from pre-intervention period to intervention period [continuous monitoring for 10 min before intervention and during 10 or 20 minute intervention]
Change in Respiratory Rate from pre-intervention period to intervention period [continuous monitoring for 10 minutes before intervention and during 10 or 20 minute intervention]

Secondary outcomes

Perceived Stress, Relaxation, Peacefulness [baseline, after a 10 minute rest period, before 10 or 20 minute intervention, immediately after intervention, 20 minutes after intervention]

+Eligibility

Sex: All, ages: 18 Years to 40 Years, accepts healthy volunteers

Inclusion Criteria:

* Healthy subjects age 18 - 40

Exclusion Criteria:

* Taking beta blocker medication

+Publications

Results publication: Kemper KJ, Shaltout HA. Non-verbal communication of compassion: measuring psychophysiologic effects. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2011 Dec 20;11:132. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-11-132. PMID 22185349

+Investigators

Kathi J Kemper, MD, Principal investigator, Wake Forest University Health Sciences

My Notes

Public

To Read Reading Read