Neural changes in early visual processing after 6 months of mindfulness training in older adults

Ben Isbel; Jan Weber; Jim Lagopoulos; Kayla Stefanidis; Hannah Anderson; Mathew Summers

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-78343-w

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Neural changes in early visual processing after 6 months of mindfulness training in older adults

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Neural changes in early visual processing after 6 months of mindfulness training in older adults

Ben Isbel, Jan Weber, Jim Lagopoulos, Kayla Stefanidis, Hannah Anderson and Mathew Summers

Scientific Reports, Vol.10, pp.1-16

2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78343-w

PMCID: PMC7713117

PMID: 33273707

Appears in Thompson Institute Research Collection

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Abstract

Healthy Brain Ageing

Thompson Institute Special Collection

UniSC Diversity Area - Life Stages

Mindfulness has been shown to improve attentional performance, which is known to decline in aging. Long-latency electroencephalographic (EEG) event-related potential (ERP) changes have been reported immediately after mindfulness training, however the enduring stability of these effects is unknown. Furthermore, the ability of mindfulness to impact earlier stages of information processing is unclear. We examined neural activation using high density EEG in older adults engaged in mindfulness training to examine the long-term stability of training effects. After 6 months of training, mindfulness practitioners displayed enhanced neural activation during sensory encoding and perceptual processing of a visual cue. Enhanced perceptual processing of a visual cue was associated with increased neural activation during post-perceptual processing of a subsequent target. Similar changes were not observed in a control group engaged in computer-based attention training over the same period. Neural changes following mindfulness training were accompanied by behavioural improvements in attentional performance. Our results are suggestive of increased efficiency of the neural pathways subserving bottom-up visual processing together with an enhanced ability to mobilise top-down attentional processes during perceptual and post-perceptual processing following mindfulness training. These results indicate that mindfulness may enhance neural processes known to deteriorate in normal aging and age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

Details

Title: Neural changes in early visual processing after 6 months of mindfulness training in older adults
Authors: Ben Isbel (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
Jan Weber (Author) - University of Tübingen
Jim Lagopoulos (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
Kayla Stefanidis (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
Hannah Anderson (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson Institute
Mathew Summers (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Social Sciences - Legacy
Publication details: Scientific Reports, Vol.10, pp.1-16
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
Date published: 2020
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78343-w
PMID: 33273707; PMC7713117
Copyright note: Copyright (c) 2020. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Organisation Unit: Road Safety Research Collaboration; School of Health; School of Social Sciences - Legacy; Thompson Institute; School of Health - Psychology; School of Law and Society; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99492508902621
Output Type: Journal article

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Web Of Science research areas: Neurosciences

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