In healthy older adults, functional connectivity within brain networks (executive control and default mode networks) declines over four years, indicating a loss of functional specialization with aging. Between these networks, connectivity initially increases (greater segregation) but later decreases, following a u-shaped trajectory. The rate of this later loss in segregation is linked to a decline in processing speed. These brain connectivity changes are independent of gray matter volume loss. The findings connect age-related changes in brain network function to age-related cognitive decline.
Mindfulness-based interventions improve cognition and emotion regulation, and this study examined how they change functional brain activity. Using a breath-counting task and resting-state fMRI, the researchers measured how efficiently the brain reconfigures its activity patterns between rest and task states. Elderly participants with sleep difficulties were assigned to either mindfulness-based therapy or a sleep hygiene active control. The mindfulness group showed improved self-reported mindfulness and greater brain functional reconfiguration efficiency in the executive control, default mode, and salience networks compared to the control group. However, these brain changes were not associated with behavioral improvements, suggesting that neuroplasticity from regular mindfulness practice may bring the brain's intrinsic functional configuration closer to a state required for mindful awareness.