Effect of meditation on cognitive functions in context of aging and neurodegenerative diseases
Effect of different meditation practices on various aspects of mental and physical health is receiving growing attention. The present paper reviews evidence about effects of several mediation practices on cognitive functions in the context of aging and neurodegenerative diseases. The effect of medit...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2014-01-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00017/full |
| _version_ | 1818497960773681152 |
|---|---|
| author | Rafał eMarciniak Katerina eSheardova Pavla eČermáková Pavla eČermáková Daniel eHudeček Rastislav eŠumec Jakub eHort Jakub eHort |
| author_facet | Rafał eMarciniak Katerina eSheardova Pavla eČermáková Pavla eČermáková Daniel eHudeček Rastislav eŠumec Jakub eHort Jakub eHort |
| author_sort | Rafał eMarciniak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Effect of different meditation practices on various aspects of mental and physical health is receiving growing attention. The present paper reviews evidence about 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T18:51:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bad8a47756aa4012b9073ae1c34bbf80 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5153 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T18:51:57Z |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-bad8a47756aa4012b9073ae1c34bbf802022-12-22T01:37:17ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience1662-51532014-01-01810.3389/fnbeh.2014.0001775960Effect of meditation on cognitive functions in context of aging and neurodegenerative diseasesRafał eMarciniak0Katerina eSheardova1Pavla eČermáková2Pavla eČermáková3Daniel eHudeček4Rastislav eŠumec5Jakub eHort6Jakub eHort7International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech RepublicInternational Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech RepublicInternational Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech RepublicAlzheimer´s Disease Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Novum plan 5, Karolinska Institutet, 141 86 Stockholm, SwedenInternational Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech RepublicInternational Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech RepublicInternational Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech RepublicMemory Disorders Clinic, Department of Neurology, 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and University Hospital Motol, V Uvalu 84, 150 06 Prague 5, Czech RepublicEffect of different meditation practices on various aspects of mental and physical health is receiving growing attention. The present paper reviews evidence about 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.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00017/fullAgingAlzheimer DiseaseAttentionCognitionDementiaMeditation |
| spellingShingle | Rafał eMarciniak Katerina eSheardova Pavla eČermáková Pavla eČermáková Daniel eHudeček Rastislav eŠumec Jakub eHort Jakub eHort Effect of meditation on cognitive functions in context of aging and neurodegenerative diseases Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience Aging Alzheimer Disease Attention Cognition Dementia Meditation |
| title | Effect of meditation on cognitive functions in context of aging and neurodegenerative diseases |
| title_full | Effect of meditation on cognitive functions in context of aging and neurodegenerative diseases |
| title_fullStr | Effect of meditation on cognitive functions in context of aging and neurodegenerative diseases |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of meditation on cognitive functions in context of aging and neurodegenerative diseases |
| title_short | Effect of meditation on cognitive functions in context of aging and neurodegenerative diseases |
| title_sort | effect of meditation on cognitive functions in context of aging and neurodegenerative diseases |
| topic | Aging Alzheimer Disease Attention Cognition Dementia Meditation |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00017/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rafałemarciniak effectofmeditationoncognitivefunctionsincontextofagingandneurodegenerativediseases AT katerinaesheardova effectofmeditationoncognitivefunctionsincontextofagingandneurodegenerativediseases AT pavlaecermakova effectofmeditationoncognitivefunctionsincontextofagingandneurodegenerativediseases AT pavlaecermakova effectofmeditationoncognitivefunctionsincontextofagingandneurodegenerativediseases AT danielehudecek effectofmeditationoncognitivefunctionsincontextofagingandneurodegenerativediseases AT rastislavesumec effectofmeditationoncognitivefunctionsincontextofagingandneurodegenerativediseases AT jakubehort effectofmeditationoncognitivefunctionsincontextofagingandneurodegenerativediseases AT jakubehort effectofmeditationoncognitivefunctionsincontextofagingandneurodegenerativediseases |