Brief Summary: MBCT for Managing VSS

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) offers a noninvasive and multifaceted approach to managing Visual Snow Syndrome (VSS) by modulating dysfunctional visual networks in the brain to help improve the visual and non-visual symptoms of VSS, promoting neuroplasticity, regulating neurotransmitter activity, managing discomfort associated with sensory disturbances, improving emotional regulation, alleviating pain, encouraging neural changes linked to enhancements in immune function, as well as reducing stress, anxiety, depression, depersonalization, derealization, and brain fog.

Neuroimaging studies suggest that VSS is linked to abnormal hyperexcitability in the visual cortex, neural signals between the eyes and brain, as well as other sensory processing areas of the brain. This hyperactivity can lead to a range of symptoms and worsen sensory disturbances. Research also suggests the biological basis of VSS is associated with disruptions in neurotransmitters like glutamate and serotonin. MBCT can help promote new neural connections, calm the body’s nervous system and stress response, enhance sensory processing, and regulate neurotransmitters like serotonin, which, along with glutamate, which are crucial to managing VSS.

In recent studies, MBCT has been explored as a treatment option specifically for VSS. Research indicates that MBCT can help effectively address neurological conditions, such as VSS, through its impact on neurotransmitters and other interconnected physiological mechanisms, as well as by inducing neuroplasticity. MBCT can initiate neuroplastic functional changes in the brain, promoting the growth of new neural connections and rewiring existing ones.

Additionally, mindfulness-based interventions can help reduce the activation of the body’s stress response system. This result can lead to lower levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, which have been implicated in neurodegenerative processes and cognitive decline.

Moreover, this intervention may help regulate the functioning of the limbic system and have effect on the activation of the body’s endogenous opioid system, allowing individuals to process sensations without becoming overwhelmed by them. This is an important consideration when managing sensory-processing disorders that can affect cognition, such as VSS.

Research on MBCT for VSS

MBCT has been studied and applied by Neurologist, Neuro-ophthalmologist, Consultant for St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and Moorfields Private Eye Hospital, and Vice President of the UK Neuro-Ophthalmology Society, Dr. Sui Wong, to treat both the visual and non-visual symptoms of VSS.

Dr. Wong’s research entails functional MRI (fMRI) scans of the brain before and after MBCT, as well as VSS patient reports. Dr. Wong’s feasibility study, published in the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology, demonstrated that her MBCT regimen, can reduce both visual and non-visual symptoms associated with VSS and improve quality of life. fMRI scans revealed significant measurable changes in brain activity, indicating that MBCT can modulate the dysfunctional visual networks associated with VSS. This objective evidence was reinforced by study participant reports. The study’s findings suggest that MBCT not only alleviates symptoms but also brings about material changes in the underlying neurological condition.

The Science of MBCT for VSS

VSS is associated with functional connectivity dysregulation of visual networks, meaning that there is a disruption in the brain networks that involve the visual pathway. The neurological network dysfunction of VSS affects the visual, attentional, and salience networks. The salience network and default mode networks are closely associated, where the default mode network reflects the baseline state of connectivity. MBCT intervention has been shown to modulate these networks. Similar changes have been observed with the application of  MBCT interventions for tinnitus, which is often associated with VSS.

Based on previous research demonstrating that mindfulness interventions can alter brain pathways, Dr. Wong, the principal investigator of MBCT intervention for VSS, used MBCT to target and modulate these dysfunctional visual networks. In addition to areas standardly addressed through MBCT, her findings also encompassed potential improvements in visual disturbances, such as visual snow/static, afterimages, photophobia, trailing phenomenon, and visual aura.

Objective fMRI measures demonstrated modulation of visual network areas within the brain, suggesting a material change in the underlying condition. This included both visual and extravisual default mode networks within the brain. Empowered with skill sets that enable self-efficacy for managing their condition, patients also reported improvements in both the severity and impact of their VSS symptoms. Moreover, findings supported that the alteration of visual network functional connectivity within visual areas and association networks may underpin disruptions between the integration of internally generated visual information and the processing of salient environmental stimuli, resulting in a constant “noise-like” perception.

MBCT modulate the autonomic nervous system (ANS) by shifting it from an overactive “fight or flight” state to a more balanced condition. This modulation reduces nervous system excitability and alleviates symptoms such as visual disturbances, sensory overload, and emotional distress. Neuroimaging studies indicate that mindfulness decreases amygdala activity, which regulates stress, and enhances prefrontal cortex connectivity, improving executive functions and emotional regulation. Consequently, these practices provide an effective method for managing neurological and neuro-ophthalmological conditions like VSS, thereby improving patients’ quality of life.

For more information about MBCT for VSS, please view the sections below.