Four weeks of meditation training improves sustained attention in community-dwelling older adults: a proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial

Ford, Sabrina D.; Nagamatsu, Lindsay S. · 2024 · Crossref

DOI: 10.3389/fragi.2024.1322705

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Summary

This proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial investigated whether a four-week focused attention meditation intervention could improve sustained attention in community-dwelling older adults. Motivated by the critical role of attention in daily functioning and fall prevention, and the known age-related decline in frontal lobe cognitive functions, the study aimed to determine if meditation serves as an effective intervention. The researchers sought to address gaps in previous literature by incorporating neurophysiological measures (event-related potentials) alongside behavioral assessments, rather than relying solely on behavioral data. The study randomized 43 participants (mean age 68 years) into either a meditation group or a music-listening control group. The intervention consisted of three 20-minute guided group sessions per week for four consecutive weeks. The meditation group practiced focused attention on the breath, while the control group listened to instrumental jazz to control for socialization and group participation effects. The primary outcome was behavioral performance on the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART), a go/no-go task requiring prolonged attention. Secondary outcomes included event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded during the SART, specifically the N2 and P3 components associated with inhibitory control. Tertiary measures included executive function, mobility, and mood assessments. Due to recruitment challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the final analysis included 38 participants, and the significance threshold was adjusted to p ≤ 0.10 to maintain statistical power. The results demonstrated that meditation training significantly improved sustained attention compared to the control group. Specifically, participants in the meditation group showed greater improvements in accuracy on both "go" trials (responding to non-target stimuli) and "no-go" trials (withholding responses to target stimuli). Neurophysiological data supported these behavioral findings, revealing significant changes in the amplitude and latency of the N2 ERP component, which reflects underlying cognitive processing and inhibitory control. No significant differences were found between groups for reaction times, executive function, mobility, or mood measures. These findings suggest that a brief, four-week meditation intervention can enhance sustained attention and alter the neural processing associated with attentional control in older adults. The study provides preliminary evidence that meditation may be a viable, accessible strategy for mitigating age-related cognitive decline. However, the authors emphasize that this is a proof-of-concept study with a small sample size and liberal statistical thresholds. They conclude that larger, definitive trials are necessary to confirm these effects and to explore the long-term benefits and real-world applications of meditation training for improving functional outcomes in aging populations.

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