The Age-Well observational study on expert meditators in the Medit-Ageing European project.

ABSTRACT: Introduction:The Age-Well observational, cross-sectional study investigates the affective and cognitive mechanisms of meditation expertise with behavioral, neuroimaging, sleep, and biological measures sensitive to aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods:Thirty cognitively unimpaired individuals aged 65 years or older with at least 10,000 hours of practice in mindfulness meditation (MM) and loving-kindness and compassion meditation (LKCM) are selected. The outcomes are the neuroimaging brain correlates of MM and LKCM and the assessments of long-term meditation practices on behavioral, neural, and biological measures as compared to nonmeditator older controls from the Age-Well randomized controlled trial. Results:Recruitment and data collection began in late 2016 and will be completed by late 2019. Discussion:Results are expected to foster the understanding of the effects of meditation expertise on aging and of the mechanisms of action underlying the meditation intervention in the Age-Well randomized controlled trial. These finding will contribute to the design of meditation-based prevention randomized controlled trials for the aged population and to the exploration of the possible long-time developmental trajectory of meditation training.

SUBMITTER: Lutz A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6300614 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature