Mindfulness practice alters brain connectivity in community‐living elders with mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

Aim There is increasing evidence that mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is associated with widespread brain dysconnectivity. Mindfulness practice, which involves focused attention to experience the present moment in a purposeful way, has been shown to confer positive psychological and functional brain changes in healthy practitioners. It is unclear whether mindfulness practice could improve functional brain connectivity in older adults with cognitive impairment. Methods Forty‐seven participants with MCI were randomized into two groups: a mindfulness practice group and a control group. Functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and neurocognitive tests were performed before and after the 3‐month intervention. A temporal efficiency analysis approach was used to examine the spatiotemporal networks of the brain. Results Participants in the mindfulness group had significantly better temporal global efficiency than controls after 3‐months of intervention. Localized changes of temporal nodal properties were present in the right cingulate gyrus, insula, and left superior temporal gyrus. Together, these results suggest greater information transmission efficiency at both the global and local spatiotemporal level. In terms of cognitive function, verbal recognition memory improved in the mindfulness group compared to the controls. Conclusion Elders who practiced mindfulness had better brain network efficiency and neurocognitive function relative to controls in this study, suggesting that mindfulness may be of benefit to aging adults with early cognitive degeneration.

Functional MRI-Specific Alterations in Salience Network in Mild Cognitive Impairment: An ALE Meta-Analysis

“…Dysfunction of the STG may result in the impairment of language and social skills in MCI. Localized changes of the STG were present after mindfulness practice for three months in subjects with MCI (Fam et al, 2020 ). The insula, especially the anterior insula, is a critical node of the SN which connects many areas including the prefrontal cortex and the parietal lobe and engages in the transformation between cognitive domains (Cerliani et al, 2012 ).…”

Mindfulness and Cognitive Training Interventions in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Impact on Cognition and Mood

“…50 However, in a more recent study, adults with mild cognitive impairment showed improvements in verbal memory following a 3-month mindfulness intervention, compared with a control group. 51…”

“…In one, participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment in both a mindfulness intervention and a psychoeducational control group improved on measures of anxiety, depression, and aging-related quality of life over 8 weeks at posttreatment and at a 3-month follow-up. 50 In the second study, both a mindfulness awareness and a health education intervention reduced depression and anxiety at trend levels among older adults with mild cognitive impairment, although greater benefits were observed for the health education group 47 (Table 1 [45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52] ).…”

“…A more recent study using resting-state fMRI reported improved brain network efficiency in the insula, anterior cingulate gyrus, and left superior temporal gyrus among adults with mild cognitive impairment who completed a 3-month mindfulness intervention. 51 There is also preliminary evidence that mindfulness-based interventions in mild cognitive impairment may reduce underlying physiological stress via decrease of the cortisol awakening response 52 and decreased levels of inflammatory biomarkers, 58 which may support brain health and cognition. Relatedly, mindfulnessbased interventions may promote changes in gene expression relevant to mild cognitive impairment, such as through benefits on telomere maintenance, which is associated with improved cognition; this remains to be supported by a comprehensive gene expression study.…”

Incorporating a Usual Care Comparator into a Study of Meditation and Music Listening for Older Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline: A Randomized Feasibility Trial

“…In contrast, other controlled trials of mindfulness meditation in generally healthy elders [86][87][88], stressed older adults [89], elders with MCI [90][91][92], dementia caregivers [93] and nursing home residents [94], showed little or no improvement in cognitive measures, nor did trials of therapist-delivered music programs in Italian elders with memory loss [95] and psychiatric in-patients with cognitive impairment [96] or of passive music listening in Taiwanese AD patients [97]. Cognitive gains observed with simple KK and ML in this study are comparable to those reported with tai chi [98][99][100], conventional exercise [99,101], cognitive training [102,103], and multicomponent interventions [104][105][106] in older adults with and without cognitive impairment.…”