Four-Week Mentalizing Imagery Therapy for Family Dementia Caregivers: A Randomized Controlled Trial with Neural Circuit Changes.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Family caregivers of patients with dementia suffer a high burden of depression and reduced positive emotions. Mentalizing imagery therapy (MIT) provides mindfulness and guided imagery skills training to improve balanced mentalizing and emotion regulation.

Objective

Our aims were to test the hypotheses that MIT for family caregivers would reduce depression symptoms and improve positive psychological traits more than a support group (SG), and would increase dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) connectivity and reduce subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) connectivity.

Methods

Forty-six caregivers participated in a randomized controlled trial comparing a 4-week MIT group (n = 24) versus an SG (n = 22). Resting state neuroimaging was obtained at basel

SUBMITTER: Jain FA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9064903 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature