The Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory (MMT; Garland et al., in press) is a process model for explaining how mindfulness might facilitate an upward spiral of positive psychological growth via both eliminative and generative mechanisms. Unlike models that strictly describe the eliminative aspects of mindfulness, MMT provides a theoretical framework for how the iterative cycle of appraisal→ decentering→ metacognitive awareness, coupled with positive reappraisals that extend into broader contexts, may help to extinguish conditioned negative affective sequela and promote positive affectivity and eudaimonic well-being. One of the largest challenges facing the self-aware individual is the filtering and selection of interoceptive and exteroceptive information, particularly with regard to how one regulates what information is attended to and what meanings are construed from experience (Delle Fave, Massimini et al. 2011). MMT proposes that mindfulness practice, over time, can lead to a deepened capacity for meaning-making – or rather, a capacity to positively reappraise experiences of suffering and to amplify the affective experience related to natural rewards through savoring, transforming the context of these experiences in such a way that the experiences become supportive of the individual’s growth-process, thus engendering eudaimonic well-being while transforming the nature of the personal narrative or ‘autobiographical self’ (Garland et al., in press). Over the course of mindfulness practice, agency and self-awareness are often transformed in ways that seem to tune attentional processes towards positive information in the internal and external environment (Kiken and Shook 2011). MMT hypothesizes that, at least in part, this process of attentional tuning towards positive stimuli, and reframing ones relationship with negative stimuli, along with proactive cognitive reappraisal feedback loops, will further generate positive affect, ultimately engendering eudaimonic well-being and spurring motivation towards prosociality (Garland et al., in press). In this manner, MMT hones in on key, heretofore neglected, generative aspects of mindfulness, implicitly contextualized in the framework of Barbara Fredrickson’s “Broaden-and-build” theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson 2004). The “Broaden-and-Build” theory models what happens at the affect-attention interface, proposing that positive and negative affect will either broaden or constrict the attentional field – resulting either in the accumulation or the conservation of psychosocial resources, respectively (Fredrickson 2004). MMT applies this theory to mindfulness practice, posturing mindfulness as a generative mechanism through which positive affect can be increased, positive reappraisals generated, and eudaimonic meaning construed from experiences of adversity. The MMT is a novel and intriguing theoretical model that holds great potential for direct application in modern western society. Though a nascent database of scientific research on the effects of mindfulness practices on mood, cognition and well-being have begun to provide insight into both the behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying the processes described in the MMT, a significant amount of research is still needed to identify pathways from dysregulation to well-being. It remains to be seen whether mindfulness-associated positive affect, along with its sequelae, are both necessary and sufficient to provide for the construal of eudaimonic meaning from conditioned and unconditioned stimulus-response sequences. In other words, are the key elements of MMT (decentering, metacognitive awareness, positive reappraisal, attention to positive affect and amplification of natural rewards) necessary and sufficient to provide constant fuel to the self-realizing individual traversing the upward spiral of eudaimonic well-being? Additional longitudinal research on mindfulness will help to assess the MMT and the generalizability of this model to diverse populations (e.g., individual differences, substance use disorders, psychiatric disorders). Notwithstanding these questions, the MMT bridges a significant gap in the literature by explicating a translational model of mindfulness that may be applied to evaluating the effectiveness of mindfulness for treating the pathophysiology of dysregulated behavior, in particular drug addiction. In the commentary to follow, we frame our discussion of the MMT in the context of a brief overview of the neural correlates of mindfulness practice, particularly with regard to distributed neural network connectivity, and discuss the relevance of mindfulness from the perspective of treating the pathophysiology of drug addiction.

中文翻译：

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正念、机制和意义：来自成瘾认知神经科学的观点

正念到意义理论（MMT；加兰等人，出版中）是一个过程模型，用于解释正念如何通过消除和生成机制促进积极心理成长的螺旋上升。与严格描述正念消除方面的模型不同，MMT 提供了一个理论框架，说明评估→去中心化→元认知意识的迭代循环，加上扩展到更广泛背景的积极重新评估，可能有助于消除条件性消极情感后遗症并促进积极情感和幸福感。自我意识个体面临的最大挑战之一是过滤和选择内感受和外感受信息，特别是关于人们如何调节所关注的信息以及从经验中解释什么意义（Delle Fave，Massimini 等人，2011 年）。MMT 提出，随着时间的推移，正念练习可以加深产生意义的能力——或者更确切地说，一种积极重新评估痛苦经历的能力，并通过品味和改变这些经历的背景来放大与自然奖励相关的情感体验以这样的方式，体验成为对个人成长过程的支持，从而在改变个人叙事或“自传性自我”的本质的同时产生幸福感（加兰等人，正在出版）。在正念练习的过程中，能动性和自我意识通常以似乎将注意力过程调整到内部和外部环境中的积极信息的方式转变（Kiken 和 Shook 2011）。MMT 假设，至少在一定程度上，这种将注意力调整到积极刺激的过程，以及重新构建与消极刺激的关系，以及主动的认知重新评估反馈循环，将进一步产生积极的影响，最终产生幸福感并激发对亲社会性（Garland et al., in press）。以这种方式，MMT 磨练了正念的关键、迄今为止被忽视的生成方面，在芭芭拉弗雷德里克森的积极情绪的“扩展和构建”理论（弗雷德里克森 2004）的框架中隐含地情境化。“扩展和构建”理论模拟了情感-注意力界面上发生的事情，提出积极和消极的情感会扩大或缩小注意力领域——分别导致心理社会资源的积累或保存（Fredrickson 2004 ）。MMT 将这一理论应用于正念练习，将正念作为一种生成机制，通过该机制可以增加积极影响，产生积极的重新评估，并从逆境的经历中解释出 eudaimonic 意义。MMT 是一种新颖有趣的理论模型，在现代西方社会中具有直接应用的巨大潜力。虽然这是一个关于正念练习对情绪影响的新兴科学研究数据库，认知和幸福感已经开始深入了解 MMT 中描述的过程背后的行为和神经机制，但仍需要大量研究来确定从失调到幸福感的途径。与正念相关的积极影响及其后遗症是否对于从条件和非条件刺激-反应序列中解释 eudaimonic 意义是必要和充分的，还有待观察。换句话说，是 MMT 的关键要素（去中心化、元认​​知意识、积极的重新评估、关注积极影响和自然奖励的放大）为自我实现的个体提供持续的燃料所必需的和足够的？关于正念的其他纵向研究将有助于评估 MMT 和该模型对不同人群的普遍性（例如，个体差异、物质使用障碍、精神障碍）。尽管存在这些问题，MMT 通过解释正念的转化模型弥补了文献中的一个重大空白，该模型可用于评估正念治疗失调行为的病理生理学的有效性，特别是毒瘾。在接下来的评论中，