Examining cognitive differences in expert meditators and non-meditators older adults.
Florence Requier, Hamed Mohammadi, Harriet Demnitz-King, Marco Schlosser, Géraldine Poisnel, Eric Salmon, Gaël Chételat, Natalie L. Marchant, Antoine Lutz, Fabienne Collette, Florence Allais, Claire André, Eider M. Arenaza‐Urquijo, Julien Asselineau, Sebastian Baez, Martine Batchelor, Axel Beaugonin, Maelle Botton, Pierre Champetier, Anne Chocat, Pascal Delamillieure, Vincent Sayette, Marion Delarue, Titi Dolma, Stéphanie Egret, Francesca Felisatti, Eglantine Ferrand-Devouges, Eric Frison, Francis Gheysen, Julie Gonneaud, Agathe Joret Philippe, Olga Klimecki, Elizabeth Kuhn, Brigitte Landeau, Gwendoline Le Du, Valérie Lefranc, Florence Mezenge, Inès Moulinet, Valentin Ourry, Cassandre Palix, Léo Paly, Stefano Poletti, Anne Quillard, Géraldine Rauchs, Corrine Schwimmer, Edelweiss Touron, Caitlin Ware, Tim Whitfield
Scientific Reports May 15, 2025 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-00226-9 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 162 |
| Population | Older adults (non-meditators and expert meditators) from the Medit-Ageing Age-well Study |
| Intervention | meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Attention Executive function Expert meditators Older age Prolonged mindfulness practice Healthy aging Preserve cognitive function Sustained cognitive benefits Manage distractions Enhanced memory Superior capacity Memory tasks External distractions |
| Registration | NCT02977819 |
| Key findings | Expert meditators reported less external distraction and had better memory than non-meditators, but no group differences were observed in attention, executive function, or global cognition. |
Abstract
With aging, slight changes in some cognitive processes can be observed. Therefore, we aimed to assess if meditation expertise is associated with preserved cognition in key domains affected in aging. We used data from two older-adult samples of the Medit-Ageing Age-well Study: 135 non-meditators and 27 expert meditators. We examined group differences in four objective cognitive domains (attention, executive functioning, episodic memory, and global cognition) and three subjective scores: Cognitive Difficulties Scale (CDS) total score as well as Attentional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) internal and external scores using generalized mixed effect models, controlling for age, sex, and education. We did not observe group differences on attentional, executive and global cognitive scores or on ASQ internal score and CDS total score. However, meditators reported less external distraction (ASQ external score) and had better memory than non-meditators. These cross-sectional results indicate a better management of external stimuli and higher memory performance in expert meditators. Memory difficulties and distractions being the main complaints of older people, prolonged meditation practice could lead them to greater cognitive capacities important for healthy aging.Trial registration: NCT02977819 (ClinicalTrials.gov).
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cites 22
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. American Psychologist 2006
- Meditation and attention: A comparison of the effects of concentrative and mindfulness meditation on sustained attention Mental Health, Religion & Culture May 1, 1999
- Mental Training as a Tool in the Neuroscientific Study of Brain and Cognitive Plasticity Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2011
- The Effect of Mindfulness-based Programs on Cognitive Function in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Neuropsychology Review August 4, 2021
and 17 more in the library