Are self-consciousness and mindfulness altered by aging?
Pierre A. Guertin
eSciPub LLC - International Journal of Aging Research 2018 DOI: 10.28933/ijoar-2018-11-1507 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness Meditation |
| Key points | Argues that before asking whether aging-related physiological and pathophysiological changes affect self-consciousness and mindfulness, researchers must first resolve key semantic, conceptual, methodological, and physiological issues. The article does not present empirical results; it frames an agenda for future inquiry. |
Abstract
It is well known that aging is the process of becoming older. It is also associated normally with a progressive loss of biological functions – both physical and mental –, underlied by naturally-occurring changes at the molecular level that may lead to the development of so-called aging-related health problems – e.g., Parkinson’s Disease, dementia, memory loss, cerebrovascular problems and Alzheimer’s Disease. Along this idea, a fundamental question remains – are self-consciousness and mindfulness also affected by these physiological or pathophysiological changes? This short article summarizes briefly some of the key sementic, conceptual, methodological and physiological issues that shall be addressed prior to tentatively providing answers to comparable questions.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |