Puebla Guedea, Marta
García Campayo, Javier (dir.) ; Mendioroz Iriarte, María Teresa (dir.)
Universidad de Zaragoza,
2020
Resumen: Mindfulness se ha descrito como una conciencia que emerge al enfocarse intencionalmente en la experiencia presente de una manera no crítica o evaluativa. Actualmente numerosos estudios demuestran la eficacia de mindfulness en la mejora de la calidad de vida y del bienestar psicológico en personas sanas, así como en el tratamiento de enfermedades psiquiátricas y médicas. Además, estudios recientes muestran los resultados que produce la práctica de mindfulness en variables biológicas, incluso a nivel funcional y anatómico. Sin embargo, los mecanismos psicológicos subyacentes a esta relación potencial son desconocidos. El objetivo principal de esta tesis es medir los efectos de mindfulness en variables psicológicas y biológicas en meditadores de larga duración. Para ello se llevaron a cabo dos estudios. El objetivo del primer estudio realizado fue replicar y fortalecer la hipótesis de que la meditación está asociada con la conservación de la longitud de los telómeros. Para observar este efecto y poder entender los mecanismos psicológicos subyacentes a esta posible relación, se comparó la longitud de los telómeros de un grupo de 20 meditadores expertos con un grupo pareado de 20 participantes sanos no meditadores. Se utilizaron múltiples variables psicológicas relacionadas con la práctica de la meditación que podrían estar involucradas en retrasar el proceso de envejecimiento. El ADN (ácido desoxirribonucleico) genómico se extrajo para la medición de los telómeros, utilizando un programa patentado de Life Length. Se usó hibridación cuantitativa fluorescente in situ de alto rendimiento (HT-Q-FISH) para medir la distribución de la longitud de los telómeros y la mediana de la longitud telomérica (MTL). El grupo de meditadores tuvo una MTL más larga (p = 0.005) y un porcentaje menor de telómeros cortos en células individuales (p = 0.007) que los del grupo de comparación. Tanto en la medida de la MTL como en el porcentaje de telómeros cortos, los siguientes tres factores fueron significativos: edad, ausencia de evitación experimental y subescala de Humanidad Común de la Escala de Autocompasión. El objetivo del segundo estudio realizado fue identificar alteraciones moleculares relacionadas con la atención plena mediante el perfil de la respuesta epigenética en meditadores de larga duración. Se realizó un cribado de metilación de ADN en todo el genoma utilizando la plataforma Illumina HumanMethylation450 en leucocitos de sangre periférica de 17 meditadores de larga duración y 17 controles pareados. Se encontraron 64 regiones diferencialmente metiladas (RDM) en meditadores en comparación con los controles, correspondientes a 43 genes. La mayoría de las RDM relacionadas con mindfulness (70,3%) estaban hipometiladas en meditadores, y el 23.4% de las RDM relacionadas con la atención plena se agrupaban en regiones cromosómicas teloméricas. Notablemente, casi la mitad de las RDM relacionadas con mindfulness (48.4%) involucraron genes vinculados a enfermedades humanas comunes. Aunque estos estudios tienen como limitación un tamaño de muestra reducido, los resultados sugieren que la ausencia de evitación experimental de emociones y pensamientos negativos es parte integral de la conexión entre la meditación y los telómeros, y sugieren también que existe una asociación consistente de la práctica de meditación a largo plazo con una pérdida predominante de la metilación de CpG en distintas regiones genómicas.
Resumen (otro idioma): Mindfulness refers to an awareness that emerges by intentionally focusing on the present experience in a nonjudgmental or evaluative manner. Nowadays numerous studies prove the effectiveness of mindfulness in improving the quality of life and psychological well-being in healthy people, as well as in the treatment of psychiatric and medical diseases. In addition, recent studies show the results produced by the practice of mindfulness in biological variables, even at functional and anatomical levels. However, the psychological mechanisms underlying this potential relationship are unknown. The main objective of this thesis is to measure the effects of mindfulness on psychological and biological variables in long-term meditators. To address this objective, two studies were carried out. The aim of the first study was to replicate and strengthen the hypothesis that meditation is associated with longer telomeres. To elucidate the psychological mechanisms underlying this potential relationship, we compared a group of 20 expert meditators with a matched comparison group of 20 non- meditators healthy subjects. Several questionnaires to assess different psychological constructs related to meditation that could be involved in delaying the ageing process were used. Genomic DNA was extracted for telomere measurement using a Life Length proprietary program. High-throughput quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (HT-Q-FISH) was used to measure the telomere length distribution and the median telomere length (MTL). The meditators group had a longer MTL (p = 0.005) and a lower percentage of short telomeres in individual cells (p = 0.007) than those in the comparison group. Both in the measure of MTL and in the percentage of short telomeres, the following three factors were significant: age, absence of experiential avoidance, and Common Humanity subscale of the Self Compassion Scale. The aim of the second study was to identify molecular alterations related to mindfulness by profiling the epigenetic response in long-term meditators. We performed a genome-wide screen of DNA methylation by using the Illumina HumanMethylation450 platform in peripheral blood leukocytes from 17 long-term meditators and 17 matched controls. 64 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in meditators compared to controls were found, corresponding to 43 genes. Most of the mindfulness-related DMRs (70.3%) were hypomethylated in meditators, and 23.4% of mindfulness-related DMRs clustered in telomeric chromosomal regions. Notably, almost half of the mindfulness-related DMRs (48.4%) involved genes linked to common human diseases. Although both studies are limited by a small sample size, results suggest that the absence of experiential avoidance of negative emotions and thoughts is integral to the connection between meditation and telomeres, and also suggest that there is a consistent association of long-term meditation practice with a predominant loss of CpG methylation in distinct genomic regions.
Resumen (otro idioma): Mindfulness refers to an awareness that emerges by intentionally focusing on the present experience in a nonjudgmental or evaluative manner. Nowadays numerous studies prove the effectiveness of mindfulness in improving the quality of life and psychological well-being in healthy people, as well as in the treatment of psychiatric and medical diseases. In addition, recent studies show the results produced by the practice of mindfulness in biological variables, even at functional and anatomical levels. However, the psychological mechanisms underlying this potential relationship are unknown. The main objective of this thesis is to measure the effects of mindfulness on psychological and biological variables in long-term meditators. To address this objective, two studies were carried out. The aim of the first study was to replicate and strengthen the hypothesis that meditation is associated with longer telomeres. To elucidate the psychological mechanisms underlying this potential relationship, we compared a group of 20 expert meditators with a matched comparison group of 20 non- meditators healthy subjects. Several questionnaires to assess different psychological constructs related to meditation that could be involved in delaying the ageing process were used. Genomic DNA was extracted for telomere measurement using a Life Length proprietary program. High-throughput quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (HT-Q-FISH) was used to measure the telomere length distribution and the median telomere length (MTL). The meditators group had a longer MTL (p = 0.005) and a lower percentage of short telomeres in individual cells (p = 0.007) than those in the comparison group. Both in the measure of MTL and in the percentage of short telomeres, the following three factors were significant: age, absence of experiential avoidance, and Common Humanity subscale of the Self Compassion Scale. The aim of the second study was to identify molecular alterations related to mindfulness by profiling the epigenetic response in long-term meditators. We performed a genome-wide screen of DNA methylation by using the Illumina HumanMethylation450 platform in peripheral blood leukocytes from 17 long-term meditators and 17 matched controls. 64 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in meditators compared to controls were found, corresponding to 43 genes. Most of the mindfulness-related DMRs (70.3%) were hypomethylated in meditators, and 23.4% of mindfulness-related DMRs clustered in telomeric chromosomal regions. Notably, almost half of the mindfulness-related DMRs (48.4%) involved genes linked to common human diseases. Although both studies are limited by a small sample size, results suggest that the absence of experiential avoidance of negative emotions and thoughts is integral to the connection between meditation and telomeres, and also suggest that there is a consistent association of long-term meditation practice with a predominant loss of CpG methylation in distinct genomic regions.
Pal. clave: psicologia
Titulación: Programa de Doctorado en Medicina
Plan(es): Plan 497
Nota: Presentado: 25 03 2020
Nota: Tesis-Univ. Zaragoza, , 2020
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Registro creado el 2021-04-26, última modificación el 2021-05-20
