Good vibrations: Sternal vibration enhances white matter density and interoceptive awareness

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Vibration-based therapies are understudied for psychiatric symptoms.
• Sternal vibration is a novel neurostimulation method.
• Its effects on neuroplasticity and clinical outcomes are unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• Examine sternal vibration's effects on white matter microstructure and dissociation.
• Investigate neuroplastic changes using neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI).
• Assess outcomes in trauma-exposed adults with dissociative symptoms.

Main Methods:

• 116 trauma-exposed adults with dissociation completed MRI scans.
• Participants underwent eight mindfulness meditation sessions.
• Half received sternal vibration augmentation (n=60), half did not (n=56).
• Self-reported dissociation measured using the Scale of Body Dissociation.

Main Results:

• Sternal vibration enhanced body awareness (p=.032) and neurite density index (NDI) in the corticospinal tract's cerebral peduncle (p<.01).
• Tractography confirmed increased NDI in the left (p=.007) and right (p=.004) corticospinal tracts.
• Reduced body dissociation correlated with increased cerebral peduncle NDI in the vibration group (p=.011).

Conclusions:

• Brief sternal vibration with mindfulness meditation enhances body awareness and white matter integrity.
• Neuroplastic changes in the corticospinal tract correlate with improved interoception.
• Sternal vibration shows potential as a low-cost, non-invasive neurostimulation for psychiatric populations.