Author: Gard T1, Taquet M2, Dixit R3, Hölzel BK4, de Montjoye YA5, Brach N6, Salat DH7, Dickerson BC8, Gray JR9, Lazar SW8.
Affiliation: 1Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School Charlestown, Boston, MA, USA ; Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus Liebig Universität Giessen Giessen, Germany ; Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Maastricht, Netherlands. 2Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium. 3BrainBot San Francisco, CA, USA. 4Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School Charlestown, Boston, MA, USA ; Institut für Medizinische Psychologie, Charite Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. 5Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA, USA. 6PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium Palo Alto, CA, USA. 7Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School Charlestown, Boston, MA, USA ; VA Boston Healthcare System Boston, MA, USA. 8Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School Charlestown, Boston, MA, USA. 9Department of Psychology, Michigan State University East Lansing, MI, USA.
Conference/Journal: Front Aging Neurosci.
Date published: 2014 Apr 22
Other:
Volume ID: 6 , Pages: 76 , Special Notes: doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2014.00076 , Word Count: 164
Numerous studies have documented the normal age-related decline of neural structure, function, and cognitive performance. Preliminary evidence suggests that meditation may reduce decline in specific cognitive domains and in brain structure. Here we extended this research by investigating the relation between age and fluid intelligence and resting state brain functional network architecture using graph theory, in middle-aged yoga and meditation practitioners, and matched controls. Fluid intelligence declined slower in yoga practitioners and meditators combined than in controls. Resting state functional networks of yoga practitioners and meditators combined were more integrated and more resilient to damage than those of controls. Furthermore, mindfulness was positively correlated with fluid intelligence, resilience, and global network efficiency. These findings reveal the possibility to increase resilience and to slow the decline of fluid intelligence and brain functional architecture and suggest that mindfulness plays a mechanistic role in this preservation.
KEYWORDS:
aging, brain network integration, brain network resilience, brain network segregation, fluid intelligence, graph theory, mindfulness, yoga
PMID: 24795629 [PubMed] PMCID: PMC4001007