Effect of meditation on cognitive functions in context of aging and neurodegenerative diseases.
Rafał Marciniak, Katerina Sheardova, Pavla Cermáková, Daniel Hudeček, Rastislav Sumec, Jakub Hort
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience January 27, 2014 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00017 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Older people and people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Aging Cognition Neurodegenerative diseases Elderly Alzheimer’s disease Dementia Mild cognitive impairment |
| Key findings | The authors report that the seven reviewed studies generally suggested a positive effect of meditation on cognition, particularly attention, as well as memory, verbal fluency, and cognitive flexibility, in older adults and people with neurodegenerative diseases. They argue that meditation may be a suitable non-pharmacological intervention for preventing cognitive decline in the elderly, while cautioning that methodological flaws and differences among meditation techniques limit these conclusions. |
Abstract
Effect of different meditation practices on various aspects of mental and physical health is receiving growing attention. The present paper reviews evidence on the effects of several mediation practices on cognitive functions in the context of aging and neurodegenerative diseases. The effect of meditation in this area is still poorly explored. Seven studies were detected through the databases search, which explores the effect of meditation on attention, memory, executive functions, and other miscellaneous measures of cognition in a sample of older people and people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases. Overall, reviewed studies suggested a positive effect of meditation techniques, particularly in the area of attention, as well as memory, verbal fluency, and cognitive flexibility. These findings are discussed in the context of MRI studies suggesting structural correlates of the effects. Meditation can be a potentially suitable non-pharmacological intervention aimed at the prevention of cognitive decline in the elderly. However, the conclusions of these studies are limited by their methodological flaws and differences of various types of meditation techniques. Further research in this direction could help to verify the validity of the findings and clarify the problematic aspects.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations | 2014 | Meta-analysis | n = 3,515 |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects | 2009 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators | 2012 | Meta-analysis | n = 163 |
| Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission | 2016 | Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials | n = 1,258 |
| Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials | 2011 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 48
- Conceptual and methodological issues in research on mindfulness and meditation. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- The Age‐Well randomized controlled trial of the Medit‐Ageing European project: Effect of meditation or foreign language training on brain and mental health in older adults Alzheimer's & Dementia 2018
- The Neural Mechanisms of Meditative Practices: Novel Approaches for Healthy Aging Current behavioral neuroscience reports October 18, 2016
- Mindfulness Training for People With Dementia and Their Caregivers: Rationale, Current Research, and Future Directions Frontiers in Psychology June 13, 2018
- Effect of an 18-Month Meditation Training on Regional Brain Volume and Perfusion in Older Adults JAMA Neurology October 10, 2022
and 43 more in the library
Cites 36
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Neuroreport November 7, 2005
- The meeting of meditative disciplines and western psychology: A mutually enriching dialogue. American Psychologist 2006
- Investigation of mindfulness meditation practitioners with voxel-based morphometry Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience December 3, 2007
- Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Psychoneuroendocrinology June 1, 2011
- Patterning of Cognitive and Somatic Processes in the Self-Regulation of Anxiety: Effects of Meditation versus Exercise Psychosomatic Medicine June 1, 1978
and 31 more in the library