Shalini Patel

Mindfulness Breathing Training (MBT) involves being anchored in the present by focusing on one’s breath and has been known to improve regulation of emotions, which may be helpful as an alternative treatment to depression. However, it is unclear who will fully engage in this. It is important to consider what characteristics, including emotion regulation, affect, and depressive symptoms predict adherence. Participants were randomized to complete transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), brain stimulation that targets the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, or a sham control. Data was obtained from the Mindful Breathing and Neuromodulation for Depression in Young People study (IRB #: STUDY00004214). Participants trained to complete 30 sessions of MBT. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) was used to assess emotion regulation, The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) scale for affect, and the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS-S) for depression symptoms. Adherence variables were measured by the percent of MBT sessions completed for ramp up, tDCS, at home training, EEG visits, and total sessions. It was found that baseline MADRS-S scores trended towards marginal positive correlation with MBT adherence (r = 0.397, p = 0.093). The DERS awareness subscale (ρ = 0.479, p = 0.038) showed significant positive correlations for the final EEG. No significant correlations were found with PANAS. Limitations are associated with possible spurious findings and external validity in that the sample size is small. The results indicate that greater depression symptoms are related to greater adherence, meaning that those individuals put an emphasis on sticking to treatment.