Mindfulness and meditation: treating cognitive impairment and reducing stress in dementia.
Jesse Russell-Williams, Wafa Jaroudi, Tania Perich, Siobhan Hoscheidt, Mohamad El Haj, Ahmed A. Moustafa
Reviews in the Neurosciences September 25, 2018 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2017-0066 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | People with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and subjective cognitive decline |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-based stress reduction Kirtan Kriya meditation mindfulness-based Alzheimer's stimulation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Alzheimer’s disease Dementia Neural studies Stress |
| Key findings | The reviewed studies reported significant findings or trends toward significance for meditation interventions, including reduced cognitive decline, reduced perceived stress, increased quality of life, and increases in functional connectivity, percent brain volume change, and cerebral blood flow in cortical areas. The authors suggest meditation may reduce stress and enhance cognition, potentially ameliorating some dementia symptoms. |
Abstract
This study investigates the relationship between mindfulness, meditation, cognition and stress in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia, mild cognitive impairment and subjective cognitive decline. Accordingly, we explore how the use of meditation as a behavioural intervention can reduce stress and enhance cognition, which in turn ameliorates some dementia symptoms. A narrative review of the literature was conducted with any studies using meditation as an intervention for dementia or dementia-related memory conditions meeting inclusion criteria. Studies where moving meditation was the main intervention were excluded due to the possible confounding of exercise. Ten papers were identified and reviewed. There was a broad use of measures across all studies, with cognitive assessment, quality of life and perceived stress being the most common. Three studies used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure functional changes to brain regions during meditation. The interventions fell into the following three categories: mindfulness, most commonly mindfulness-based stress reduction (six studies); Kirtan Kriya meditation (three studies); and mindfulness-based Alzheimer's stimulation (one study). Three of these studies were randomised controlled trials. All studies reported significant findings or trends towards significance in a broad range of measures, including a reduction of cognitive decline, reduction in perceived stress, increase in quality of life, as well as increases in functional connectivity, percent volume brain change and cerebral blood flow in areas of the cortex. Limitations and directions for future studies on meditation-based treatment for AD and stress management are suggested.
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 13
- Educating Through Attentional States of Consciousness, an Effective Way to Develop Creative Potential? Frontiers in Education March 17, 2022
- The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Mental Health and Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of aging and health July 24, 2024
- Mindfulness in Persons with Mild Dementia and Their Caregivers: Exploring Trait Rumination as a Clinical Outcome Measure Mindfulness August 1, 2023
- The cloud of unknowing: Cognitive dedifferentiation in whole-body perceptual deprivation. Progress in Brain Research 2023
- Meditation for subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Frontiers in Public Health 2025
and 8 more in the library
Cites 20
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Impact of meditation training on the default mode network during a restful state Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience March 24, 2012
- Increased default mode network connectivity associated with meditation Neuroscience Letters October 28, 2010
- Can mindfulness-based interventions influence cognitive functioning in older adults? A review and considerations for future research. Aging & Mental Health November 2017
and 15 more in the library