Cognitive stimulation, physical activity or even a healthy diet… Faced with the onset of dementia in the elderly, there are many good recommendations. Nevertheless, psychoaffective factors such as the Depression, stress or anxiety are not subject to specific prevention. And yet, mental training targeting the regulation of stress and attention – such as mindfulness meditation for example – could be beneficial in managing the cognitive and emotional aspects specific to aging, according to a study carried out by researchers from the ‘Inserm to be published in the journal JAMA Neurology.
Meditation would affect two areas of the brain, theinsula and singular cortex, particularly involved in self-awareness, processing regulation of attention, emotions and empathy when connected. These two areas are also very sensitive to aging: with age, phenomena such as anxiety or sleep problems can be amplified. And in elderly people who are experts in meditation, it has already been found that the volume of gray matter is greater than in people who do not practice it at all.
In order to verify whether meditation could be an interesting approach to combating dementia in the elderly, the team of researchers from Inserm and the University of Caen followed patients over the age of 65 with no known pathology for 18 month. To distinguish the impact on cell volume and perfusion – a “physiological process of supplying an organ with the nutrients and oxygen necessary for its metabolism” indicates Inserm – from these two areas, they divided them into three groups: one group had to practice 20 minutes of meditation per dayanother took English lessons and the last one hasn’t changed his habits.
Maintaining emotional abilities
If no difference was observed in 18 months at the anatomical level – the areas of the brain did not gain enough volume – a longer follow-up (over four years) showed real changes between the groups, in particular on the regulation attention and socio-emotional skills. “The fact that no anatomical differences were observed between these two groups could indicate that, while meditation can alter the volume of younger, more plastic brains, 18 months of training is not enough to alter the effects of aging.indicates Gaël Chételat, director of research at Inserm and coordinator of the study. Moreover, if the volume measurement results are strictly negative, those of the perfusion show a tendency in favor of meditation that it could be interesting to explore over a longer intervention time and/or with a sample of larger population.”
“The practice of meditation shows here its real benefit on the mental health of the elderly, with a significant improvement in parameters and development, but also in maintaining the attentional and socio-emotional capacities reported by the participants.adds Antoine Lutz, head of the Meditation axis of the study.
Source :
- Press release: “Prevention of dementia in seniors: meditation still under study”, InsermOctober 7, 2022
