Ranchi Institute of Neuropsychiatry and Allied Sciences, Psychiatry, Ranchi, India.
Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn. 2012;19(4):479-94. doi: 10.1080/13825585.2011.630932. Epub 2011 Dec 13.
The general consensus that cognitive abilities decline with advancing age is supported by several studies that have reported that older adults perform more poorly on multiple tests of cognitive performance as compared to younger adults. To date, preventive measures against this cognitive decline have been mainly focused on dietary, physical, and lifestyle behaviors which could allow older adults to maintain their cognitive abilities into late life. However, much less stress has been laid on evaluating meditation as a preventive measure in such cases in spite of the fact that the role of meditation on attention has been proved in several studies. In the current study, we extend this preliminary idea, examining the practice of concentrative meditation and the differences in the cognitive performance of older adults who have or have not employed this practice long term.
This was a cross-sectional study comparing the cognitive performance of meditators and non-meditators in the geriatric age group. Twenty (age > 55 years) long-term practitioners of Vihangam Yoga meditation (>10 years of practice) were recruited in the present study and were applied six paper-pencil neuropsychological tests for assessment of short-term memory, perceptual speed, attention, and executive functioning. The tests used were: (1) the Digit Span test, (2) the Stroop Color Word test, (3) the Trailmaking test, (4) the Letter Cancellation Task, (5) the digit symbol substitution test, and (6) the Rule Shift Card Test. All the tests were also applied to 20 age- and education-matched geriatric adults who have not practiced the meditation technique.
Vihangam Yogis showed significantly better performances in all these tests of attention (p < .05) except for the digit backward test, where a trend (p = .08) was found in favor of meditators.
Long-term Vihangam Yoga meditators have superior cognitive abilities than non-meditators in the old age group. This technique should be studied further for its ability to prevent age-related cognitive decline.
多项研究表明，与年轻人相比，老年人在多项认知表现测试中的表现更差，这一普遍共识表明认知能力会随着年龄的增长而下降。迄今为止，针对这种认知能力下降的预防措施主要集中在饮食、身体和生活方式行为上，这些措施可以使老年人在晚年保持认知能力。然而，尽管有几项研究已经证明了冥想对注意力的作用，但在这种情况下，人们对评估冥想作为预防措施的重视程度要低得多。在目前的研究中，我们扩展了这一初步想法，研究了专注冥想的实践以及长期进行这种实践的老年人和没有长期进行这种实践的老年人在认知表现方面的差异。
这是一项横断面研究，比较了老年组中冥想者和非冥想者的认知表现。本研究招募了 20 名（年龄>55 岁）长期练习维汉瑜伽冥想（>10 年）的人，并对他们进行了 6 项纸笔神经心理学测试，以评估短期记忆、知觉速度、注意力和执行功能。使用的测试包括：（1）数字跨度测试，（2）斯特鲁普颜色词测试，（3）轨迹制作测试，（4）字母取消任务，（5）数字符号替换测试，（6）规则转换卡测试。所有测试也应用于 20 名年龄和教育程度与冥想技术相匹配的老年成年人。
维汉瑜伽修行者在所有注意力测试中（p<.05）表现明显更好，除了数字倒背测试（p=.08）倾向于冥想者。
长期练习维汉瑜伽的冥想者在老年组中的认知能力优于非冥想者。这种技术应该进一步研究，以评估其预防与年龄相关的认知能力下降的能力。
