“….six-week gratitude intervention……in order to investigate whether gratitude could improve inflammatory outcomes through the activation of a neural caregiving system…”

“The present study examined the neuroimaging component of this intervention….”

“….this study investigated whether gratitude activates a neural ‘caregiving system’ (e.g., ventral striatum, septal area), which can downregulate threat responding (e.g., amygdala) and possibly cellular inflammatory responses linked to health.”

“A parallel group randomized controlled trial examined the effect of a six-week online gratitude (n = 31) vs. control (n = 30) writing intervention on neural activity and inflammatory outcomes.”

“…..female participants (ages 35–50) reported on support-giving behavior and provided blood samples to assess circulating plasma levels and stimulated monocytic production of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6.”

“….across the entire sample, those who showed larger pre- to- post-intervention increases in self-reported support-giving showed larger reductions in amygdala reactivity following the gratitude task…”

“…those who showed larger reductions in amygdala reactivity following the gratitude task showed larger pre-to-post reductions in the stimulated production of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6.”

“Importantly, gratitude-related reductions in amygdala reactivity statistically mediated the relationship between increases in support-giving and decreases in stimulated tumor necrosis factor-α.”

The observed relationships suggest that gratitude may benefit health.”

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L.I.Hazlett, et al

Exploring neural mechanisms of the health benefits of gratitude in women: A randomized controlled trial

Brain, Behavior, & Immunity — Volume 95 — July 2021 — page 444