MARC Research is housed under The Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology

Published Studies

At MARC, we have conducted research on both mindfulness, generally, and the effects of our signature Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPs) program in a variety of settings, both in adults and children. Below is a list of our past and current research projects, organized into three general categories: research conducted on our signature Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPs) program (including MAPs for insomnia, MAPS-I), the MARC app/recorded meditations, and other mindfulness research studies conducted in affiliation with MARC.

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                 MAPs Research

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             MARC App Research

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           Other MARC Research

Research in mindfulness has identified a wide range of benefits in different areas of psychological health, such as helping to decrease anxiety, depression, rumination, and emotional reactivity. Research has also shown mindfulness helps to increase well-being, positive affect, and concentration.

Practicing mindfulness can also be helpful to foster physical health by improving immune system function, quality of sleep, as well as decreasing blood pressure. Structural and functional brain changes have also been documented in areas associated with attention, emotional regulation, empathy, and bodily awareness.

In addition to health, research has been made on the benefits of mindfulness in business and educational settings. In companies, results showed improved communication and work performance. In educational settings, mindfulness practices improved social-emotional skills, executive functions, and decreased test stress in students, as well as reduced stress and burnout in teachers.


Mindfulness Research at The Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology 

UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) is housed under The Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology. The Cousins Center serves as a major campus facilitator for bridging training in the fields of behavioral science, neuroscience, and immunology.

The Cousins Center brings together diverse group of scientists with the goal of understanding the role of immunological mechanisms that underlie behavioral disturbances with impacts on mental health.

The Cousins Center consists of core faculty conducting PNI-based research studies on aging, alcohol and substance abuse, cancer, infectious diseases, inflammatory diseases and mind-body interactions. In addition, the center has its own on-site Inflammatory Biology Core Laboratory and Psychophysiology Laboratory.

For more information on being a study participant at the Cousins Center, please contact: 310.267.4389.