Mindfulness for Chronic Pain

This randomized 2×2 factorial study will examine how verbal expectancy framing and mindfulness-specific practice instructions influence acute pain and brain activity in adults with chronic pain. Sixty meditation-naïve adults will be assigned to one of four conditions combining positive or negative expectancy framing with either a guided mindfulness exercise or a sham-meditation comparison exercise. Pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, anxiety, desire for pain medication, and mindfulness-related psychological states will be assessed before and immediately after the intervention, while electroencephalography (EEG) will be used to measure changes in brain activity during the exercise. The study is designed to clarify the independent and combined contributions of expectancy and mindfulness-specific instructions to acute pain relief and neurophysiological responses.