As a spirituality exercise, mindfulness practice such as meditation is gaining popularity. Its potential cognitive benefits have also become a focus of research. A recent study reported enhanced temporal global efficiency and global and regional dynamic functional connectivity, as well as better performance in recognition memory task following a 12-week guided mindfulness practice in elderly with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The plausible mechanisms proposed for such improvements suggested that mindfulness practice may increase grey matter density for information processing and improve nodal efficiencies in brain regions functionally and structurally related to meditation. Better performance in the recognition task may be explained by the increased nodal efficiency in the left superior temporal gyrus. Therefore, mindfulness practice may serve as a non-pharmacological approach to help restore brain dysconnectivity and promote cognitive health in the elderly with MCI.

Keywords: mindfulness practice, mild cognitive impairment, temporal global efficiency, functional connectivity, neuroscience

Reference

Fam J et al. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2020;74(4):257-262.