The Dr. Jud Podcast

Pretreatment Brain Activation During Stroop Task Is Associated with Outcomes in Cocaine-Dependent Patients In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer explores the relationship between brain activity and treatment outcomes for cocaine addiction. The discussion highlights a groundbreaking study that used functional MRI to measure brain activation during a cognitive control task, the Stroop test, prior to treat...

Development and Validation of the Behavioral Tendencies Questionnaire In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and Dr. Nicholas Van Dam discuss the creation of the Behavioral Tendencies Questionnaire (BTQ), a novel tool for assessing personality traits based on behavioral approach, avoidance, and equivocation. Rooted in both contemporary psychology and ancient Buddhist typologies, the BTQ categorizes indiv...

Mindfulness: An Emerging Treatment for Smoking and Other Addictions? In this episode, Dr. Jud unpacks the groundbreaking insights from the paper Mindfulness: An Emerging Treatment for Smoking and Other Addictions? by Judson Brewer and Lori Pbert. Discover how mindfulness leverages ancient practices to combat modern addictions by targeting the neurological reward-based habit loops. Learn how this a...

The Science of Advanced Meditation: Transforming Mental Health and Consciousness In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and Dr. Matthew Sacchet explore the cutting edge of meditation research, revealing how advanced meditation practices can fundamentally reshape the brain, enhance well-being, and provide deep psychological transformation. As meditation science enters a new phase, researchers are uncoveri...

Mindfulness Training for Smoking Cessation: Moderation of the Relationship Between Craving and Cigarette Use In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and colleagues discuss a randomized clinical trial evaluating mindfulness training (MT) as a smoking cessation intervention. The study demonstrates how mindfulness decouples the link between craving and cigarette use by disrupting the addictive loop reinforce...

Meditation Leads to Reduced Default Mode Network Activity Beyond an Active Task In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and Dr. Kathleen Garrison explore how meditation alters brain activity, specifically within the default mode network (DMN), a system associated with self-referential thinking and mind-wandering. This study uniquely compares meditation not just to resting states but also to an active cogn...

Mindfulness Training for Smoking Cessation: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and colleagues present findings from a groundbreaking randomized controlled trial comparing mindfulness training (MT) to a standard smoking cessation program (Freedom From Smoking, FFS). The study demonstrates that MT not only reduced cigarette consumption more effectively during...

Source-Space EEG Neurofeedback Links Subjective Experience with Brain Activity During Effortless Awareness Meditation In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and Dr. Remko van Lutterveld explore the latest advances in neurofeedback and meditation. This study used high-density EEG to provide real-time neurofeedback from the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), a key region in self-referential processing and m...

Craving to Quit: Psychological Models and Neurobiological Mechanisms of Mindfulness Training as Treatment for Addictions In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and colleagues explore the transformative role of mindfulness training in treating addictions. Drawing from both modern psychological frameworks and ancient Buddhist models of suffering, this discussion highlights how mindfulness targets core elem...

Neurofeedback from the Posterior Cingulate Cortex as a Mental Mirror for Meditation In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and Dr. Remko van Lutterveld explore how real-time neurofeedback from the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) can serve as a "mental mirror" to enhance meditation practice. Meditation is known for its benefits, but learning how to meditate effectively can be challenging due to...

Bested by the Buddha: Does Ancient Theory Outperform Modern-Day Psychology for Habit Change and Addiction Treatment? In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer explores the intersection of ancient Buddhist teachings and modern psychology to tackle habits and addictions. Drawing on his personal journey and clinical research, Dr. Brewer illustrates how mindfulness targets reinforcement learning, disrupting add...

BOLD Signal and Functional Connectivity Associated with Loving-Kindness Meditation In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and his team explore the neuroscience behind loving-kindness meditation (Metta) and its impact on brain function. Using fMRI, this study compared experienced meditators and novices, uncovering key differences in brain activity and connectivity during the practice. The findings reveal...

Analyzing the Impact of Mobile App Engagement on Mental Health Outcomes: Secondary Analysis of the Unwinding Anxiety Program In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and colleagues explore how engagement with specific app features impacts mental health outcomes in the context of anxiety treatment. Through secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial, the study demonstrates that higher engagement wit...

Real-Time fMRI Links Subjective Experience with Brain Activity During Focused Attention In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer explores groundbreaking research on real-time fMRI neurofeedback, revealing how brain activity and subjective experience interact during focused attention. This study bridges the gap between objective neuroscience and first-person introspection by using experienced meditators who...

Digital Mindfulness Training for Burnout Reduction in Physicians: Clinician-Driven Approach In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and Dr. Lia Antico dive into their groundbreaking research on digital mindfulness as a tool for combating physician burnout. Burnout is an epidemic among healthcare professionals, impacting well-being, patient care, and healthcare systems. This study, the first to incorporate...

Practical Awareness-Based Strategies for Eating (PASE): A Pilot and Feasibility Randomized Trial examines the effectiveness of a mobile mindfulness-based intervention, Eat Right Now (ERN), targeting reward-related eating to promote weight loss. This episode delves into the groundbreaking findings of Dr. Judson Brewer and his collaborators, who conducted a six-month randomized trial on adults with...

Effortless Awareness: Using Real-Time Neurofeedback to Investigate Correlates of Posterior Cingulate Cortex Activity in Meditators' Self-Report explores how real-time fMRI neurofeedback can link meditation experience to brain activity. In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and his collaborators discuss their groundbreaking study, which analyzed first-person reports of experienced meditators and rea...

Analyzing the Impact of Mobile App Engagement on Mental Health Outcomes: Secondary Analysis of the Unwinding Anxiety Program In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and colleagues explore how engagement with specific app features impacts mental health outcomes in the context of anxiety treatment. Through secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial, the study demonstrates that higher engagement wit...

Associations of Dispositional Mindfulness with Obesity and Central Adiposity: The New England Family Study In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and colleagues examine how dispositional mindfulness—the ability to nonjudgmentally attend to one’s mental and physical experiences—relates to obesity and central adiposity. Drawing on findings from the New England Family Study, they explore associations betwee...

What About the "Self" Is Processed in the Posterior Cingulate Cortex? investigates the role of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) in self-referential processing. This fascinating study by Dr. Jud Brewer, Kathleen Garrison, and Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli explores how the PCC is activated during experiences of being "caught up in" mental content, such as self-judgment, social cog...

Cluster-Based Psychological Phenotyping and Differences in Anxiety Treatment Outcomes In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and colleagues explore how machine learning and psychological phenotyping can optimize treatment for anxiety disorders. Through a groundbreaking study involving app-based mindfulness training, participants were grouped into three psychological phenotypes: "severely anxious wit...

Women’s Experiences with a Mindful Eating Program for Binge and Emotional Eating: A Qualitative Investigation into the Process of Change In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and colleagues unpack the transformative power of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in addressing binge and emotional eating. Drawing on a qualitative study, they explore how mindfulness fosters attitudinal and behavioral chan...

"Why Is It So Hard to Pay Attention, or Is It? Mindfulness, the Factors of Awakening and Reward-Based Learning" dives into the intricate connections between mindfulness, attention, and habit formation. Dr. Jud Brewer, alongside co-authors Jake H. Davis and Joseph Goldstein, explores how reward-based learning shapes our ability to pay attention and sustain mindfulness practice. This episo...

Targeting Anxiety to Improve Sleep Disturbance: A Randomized Clinical Trial of App-Based Mindfulness Training In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and colleagues discuss a novel randomized clinical trial examining the impact of the Unwinding Anxiety app on improving sleep disturbances caused by anxiety and worry. The study demonstrates that app-based mindfulness training significantly reduces worry-rel...

Testing a Mobile Mindful Eating Intervention Targeting Craving-Related Eating: Feasibility and Proof of Concept In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer and colleagues discuss the results of a groundbreaking study testing a smartphone-based mindful eating intervention. Designed to target craving-related eating through mindfulness and operant conditioning principles, the intervention demonstrated significan...