Mindfulness intervention improves cognitive function in older adults by enhancing the level of miRNA-29c in neuron-derived extracellular vesicles

Abstract

Although mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) improves cognitive function, the mechanism is not clear. In this study, people aged 65 years and older were recruited from elderly communities in Chitose City, Japan, and assigned to a non-MBSR group or a MBSR group. Before and after the intervention, the Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-J) was administered, and blood samples were collected. Then, neuron-derived extracellular vesicles (NDEVs) were isolated from blood samples, and microRNAs, as well as the target mRNAs, were evaluated in NDEVs. A linear mixed model analysis showed significant effects of the MBSR x time interaction on the MoCA-J scores, the expression of miRNA(miR)-29c, DNA methyltransferase 3 alpha (DNMT3A), and DNMT3B in NDEVs. These results indicate that MBSR can improve cognitive function by increasing the expression of miR-29c and decreasing the expression of DNMT3A, as well as DNMT3B, in neurons. It was also found that intracerebroventricular injection of miR-29c mimic into 5xFAD mice prevented cognitive decline, as well as neuronal loss in the subiculum area, by down-regulating Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b in the hippocampus. The present study suggests that MBSR can prevent neuronal loss and cognitive impairment by increasing the neuronal expression of miR-29c.

Randomized Trial on the Effects of a Group EMDR Intervention on Narrative Complexity and Specificity of Autobiographical Memories: A Path Analytic and Supervised Machine-Learning Study

“…More importantly, group EMDR may represent an effective strategy as an early intervention and prevention of the development of psychological disorders in the long term following situations of acute stress [102]. Interestingly, miRNA-29a was identified as a response predictor for EMDR integrative effects [103] (while a mindfulness intervention [104] was found to improve cognitive function [105] by increasing the neuronal expression of miRNA-29c [106]), so a group EMDR intervention may represent an effective strategy to promote integration in clinical [52] and non-clinical individuals [107].…”

Editorial: Self-compassion: From Neuroscience to Clinical Setting

“…Instead of feeling isolated or disconnected, SC allows the understanding of one's own flaws as part of the universal human experience and to see those experiences as part of human life (Neff, 2009;Poli et al, 2021). Previous research has shown that dispositional mindfulness, a construct that is closely related to compassion and SC, was associated with less selfreported emotional distress in many different populations (Hashizume et al, 2021;Poli et al, 2022). However, previous research has also suggested that dispositional SC, rather than dispositional mindfulness, may be an even more effective buffer against emotional distress.…”

Beyond the Mat: Exploring the Potential Clinical Benefits of Yoga on Epigenetics and Gene Expression: A Narrative Review of the Current Scientific Evidence

“…explored the effects of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program on the elderly individuals in Chitose City, Japan. [ 28 ] The results revealed that participants in the MBSR group, who underwent the program thrice weekly for 4 weeks, showed significant improvements in cognitive function, as measured by the Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment-J. They also exhibited increased expression of microRNA-29c (miR-29c) in neuron-derived exosomes (NDEs) in their blood.…”