Bases biológicas del mindfulness y su aplicación en la práctica clínica

Mindfulness, one of the mind-body therapies, is definedas the ability to focus attention on the present moment.It was formally introduced in clinical practice by Dr JonKabat-Zinn in 1982 and has been used in the treatmentof different health conditions. The purpose of this reviewarticle is to explain the biological mechanisms throughwhich mindfulness techniques might work to understandits benefits in physical and mental health. 38 articlesthat contained information on neural, cardiovascular,immune, and hormonal mechanisms were included (14clinical randomized trials, 22 systematic reviews andmetanalysis and two clinical practice guidelines). Mainfindings include: cerebral changes associated with changesin nociceptive information processing, improvementsin blood pressure measures and myocardial perfusion,improved cardiovascular autonomic regulation, a decreasein the production of proinflammatory cytokines and incortisol levels. These mechanisms correlate with findingsin the literature in which benefits of this practice havebeen reported to have been obtained in the treatment ofmood disorders, chronic pain conditions and inflammatoryconditions associated with cardiovascular diseases suchas hypertension. Mindfulness can be considered a safetherapeutic alternative due to its low risk of adverse effects