Changes in brain resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) were investigated using a longitudinal design by following a 2-month focused attention meditation (FAM) practice and analyzing their association with FAM practice time. Ten novice meditators were recruited from a university meditation course. Participants were scanned with a resting-state fMRI sequence with multi-echo EPI acquisition at baseline and at the 2-month follow-up. Total FAM practice time was calculated from the daily log of the participants. We observed significantly increased rsFC between the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and dorsal attention network (DAN), the right middle temporal (RMT) region and default mode network (DMN), the left and right superior parietal lobules (LSPL/RSPL) and DMN, and the LSPL/RSPL and DAN. Furthermore, the rsFC between the LSPL and medial prefrontal cortex was significantly associated with the FAM practice time. These results demonstrate increased connectivity within the DAN, between the DMN and DAN, and between the DMN and visual cortex. These findings demonstrate that FAM can enhance the brain connection among and within brain networks, especially DMN and DAN, indicating potential effect of FAM on fast switching between mind wandering and focused attention and maintaining attention once in the attentive state.

Background: This is the first longitudinal study to assess regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) changes during the progression from normal control (NC) through mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Objective: We aim to determine if perfusion MRI biomarkers, derived from our prior cross-sectional study, can predict the onset and cognitive decline of AD. Methods: Perfusion MRIs using arterial spin labeling (ASL) were acquired in 15 stable-NC, 14 NC-to-MCI, 16 stable-MCI, and 18 MCI/AD-to-AD participants from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) cognition study. Group comparisons, predictions of AD conversion and time to conversion, and Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE) from rCBF were performed. Results: Compared to the stable-NC group: 1) the stable-MCI group exhibited rCBF decreases in the right temporoparietal (p = 0.00010) and right inferior frontal and insula (p = 0.0094) regions; and 2) the MCI/AD-to-AD group exhibited rCBF decreases in the bilateral temporoparietal regions (p = 0.00062 and 0.0035). Compared to the NC-to-MCI group, the stable-MCI group exhibited a rCBF decrease in the right hippocampus region (p = 0.0053). The baseline rCBF values in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) (p = 0.0043), bilateral superior medial frontal regions (BSMF) (p = 0.012), and left inferior frontal (p = 0.010) regions predicted the 3MSE scores for all the participants at follow-up. The baseline rCBF in the PCC and BSMF regions predicted the conversion and time to conversion from MCI to AD (p <  0.05; not significant after multiple corrections). Conclusion: We demonstrated the feasibility of ASL in detecting rCBF changes in the typical AD-affected regions and the predictive value of baseline rCBF on AD conversion and cognitive decline.

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