Neuroimaging studies show that the functional connectivity of the brain changes with age. Resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the brain appears to decrease with aging in key networks associated with higher order thinking and effective emotional regulation. Interventions that potentially preserversFC in the brain include 1) physical activity and 2) contemplative practice commonly...
Medical science educatorDecember 1, 2025Geoffroy P J C Noel, Federica Klaus, Jenna Tutjer et al.
Compassion training (CT) has been used in medical education to enhance patient care and decrease provider burnout. A growing number of institutions incorporate humanistic practices into anatomy classes; however, there is no report of CT ever being incorporated. The authors hypothesized that implementing CT during a pre-clinical anatomy course, a program called Compassionatomy, would help...
Meditation is a family of ancient and contemporary contemplative mind-body practices that can modulate psychological processes, awareness, and mental states. Over the last 40 years, clinical science has manualized meditation practices and designed various meditation interventions that have shown therapeutic efficacy for disorders including depression, pain, addiction, and anxiety. Over the past...
JAMADecember 13, 2022Eric J Lenze, Michelle Voegtle, J Philip Miller et al.
Episodic memory and executive function are essential aspects of cognitive functioning that decline with aging. This decline may be ameliorable with lifestyle interventions. To determine whether mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), exercise, or a combination of both improve cognitive function in older adults. This 2 × 2 factorial randomized clinical trial was conducted at 2 US sites...
Age-related cognitive decline is a pervasive problem in our aging population. To date, no pharmacological treatments to halt or reverse cognitive decline are available. Behavioral interventions, such as physical exercise and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, may reduce or reverse cognitive decline, but rigorously designed randomized controlled trials are needed to test the efficacy of such...