Introduction: Self-referential processes are suspected to rely on the default mode network (DMN), particularly the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). The right PCC, has been implicated in self-awareness, with neuroimaging studies showing its involvement in anosognosia in Alzheimer’s disease. However, causal evidence linking right PCC activity to DMN synchrony in humans remains scarce. This study...
Mindfulness-based stress reduction combined with reminiscence therapy: a non-pharmacological approach for older adults with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease.
Objectives Meditation imparts relaxation and constitutes an important non-pharmacological intervention for people with cognitive impairment. Moreover, EEG has been widely used as a tool for detecting brain changes even at the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The current study investigates the effect of meditation practices on the human brain across the AD spectrum by using a novel...
When do we die and what happens in the brain when we die? The mystery around these questions has engaged mankind for centuries. Despite the challenges to obtain recordings of the dying brain, recent studies have contributed to better understand the processes occurring during the last moments of life. In this review, we summarize the literature on neurophysiological changes around the time of...
With the recent legalization of inhaled cannabis for medicinal and recreational use, the elderly represents one of the newest, rapidly growing cohorts of cannabis users. To understand the neurobiological effects of cannabis on the aging brain, 19-20 months old mice were divided into three groups exposed to vaporized cannabis containing ~10% Δ9-THC, ~10% CBD, or placebo for 30 min each day....
Mindfulness meditation has been shown to be beneficial for a range of different health conditions, impacts brain function and structure relatively quickly, and has shown promise with aging samples. Functional magnetic resonance imaging metrics provide insight into neurovascular health which plays a key role in both normal and pathological aging processes. Experimental mindfulness meditation...
Several lines of evidence suggest that older adults (aged 65+) sharply increased their cannabis use over the last decade, highlighting a need to understand the effects of cannabis in this age group. Pre-clinical models suggest that cannabinoids affect the brain and cognition in an age-dependent fashion, having generally beneficial effects on older animals and deleterious effects on younger...
Facial emotion recognition plays an important role in social functioning. Patients with late-life depression (LLD) often have abnormal facial emotion recognition. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is beneficial in treating depression. This study examined whether MBCT can act as an effective augmentation of antidepressants and improve facial emotion recognition in patients with LLD and...
Late-life depression (LLD) affects up to 18% of older adults and has been linked to elevated dementia risk. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) holds promise for treating symptoms of depression and ameliorating cognitive deficits in older adults. While preliminary findings are promising, a definitive RCT investigating its effects on late life depression and cognition have not yet been...
The neurophysiological footprint of brain activity after cardiac arrest and during near-death experience (NDE) is not well understood. Although a hypoactive state of brain activity has been assumed, experimental animal studies have shown increased activity after cardiac arrest, particularly in the gamma-band, resulting from hypercapnia prior to and cessation of cerebral blood flow after cardiac...
Maintaining optimal cognitive functioning throughout the lifespan is a public health priority. Evaluation of cognitive outcomes following interventions to promote and preserve brain structure and function in older adults, and associated neural mechanisms, are therefore of critical importance. In this randomized controlled trial, we examined the behavioral and neural outcomes following...
Large-scale brain networks exhibit changes in functional connectivity during the aging process. Recent literature data suggests that Yoga and other contemplative practices may revert, at least in part, some of the aging effects in brain functional connectivity, including of the Default Mode Network (DMN). The aim of this cross-sectional investigation was to compare resting-state functional...
While the neural correlates of age-related decline in episodic memory have been the subject of much interest, the spontaneous functional architecture of the brain for various memory processes in elderly adults, such as immediate recall (IR) and delayed recall (DR), remains unclear. The present study thus examined the neural correlates of age-related decline of various memory processes. A total...
Previous research has identified the effects of tai chi exercise on elders' executive control or on their emotion regulation. However, few works have attempted to reveal the relationships between tai chi, executive control, and emotion regulation in the same study. The current resting-state study investigated whether the impact of tai chi on elders' emotion regulation was mediated by the...
Aging is associated with an increased risk of falling. In particular, older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are more vulnerable to falling compared with their healthy counterparts. Major contributors to this increased falls risk include a decline in dual task performance, gait speed, and postural sway. Recent evidence highlights the potential influence of the default mode network...
Clinical neuropsychology (CN) has clearly emerged as a diagnostic discipline, influenced by disembodied and localizationist-connectionist approaches. In this sense, cognition has been understood as a relatively isolated link of perception and movement. The classic model “perception → cognition→ action” has guided the design of instruments and the interpretation of the results in pathological...
The growing interest in mindfulness interventions for use in aging samples has been met with promising evidence of cognitive, emotional, and physiological benefits. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the impact of mindfulness training on three areas of functioning in older adults: behavioral and neural correlates of attentional performance, psychological well-being, and...
Yoga, a mind-body activity that requires attentional engagement, has been associated with positive changes in brain structure and function, especially in areas related to awareness, attention, executive functions and memory. Normal aging, on the other hand, has also been associated with structural and functional brain changes, but these generally involve decreased cognitive functions. The aim...
Introduction: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) not only negatively impacts upon a person's life, but it is also seen as an intermediate stage on the progression to Alzheimer's Disease (AD), and therefore warrants early intervention. However, there is currently no effective pharmacological treatment approved for MCI. There is a paucity of evidence that non-pharmacological interventions such as...
Although research on the effects of mindfulness meditation (MM) is increasing, still very little has been done to address its influence on the white matter (WM) of the brain. We hypothesized that the practice of MM might affect the WM microstructure adjacent to five brain regions of interest associated with mindfulness. Diffusion tensor imaging was employed on samples of meditators and...
Behavioral interventions are becoming increasingly popular approaches to ameliorate age-related cognitive decline, but their underlying neurobiological mechanisms and clinical efficiency have not been fully elucidated. The present study explored brain plasticity associated with two behavioral interventions, memory enhancement training (MET) and a mind-body practice (yogic meditation), in...