Fountain-Zaragoza Stephanie, Prakash Ruchika Shaurya
Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Ohio State University Columbus, OH, USA.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2017 Feb 3;9:11. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00011. eCollection 2017.
The growing interest in mindfulness interventions for use in aging samples has been met with promising evidence of cognitive, emotional, and physiological benefits. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the impact of mindfulness training on three areas of functioning in older adults: behavioral and neural correlates of attentional performance, psychological well-being, and systemic inflammation. We have previously proposed that mindfulness training is uniquely suited as a rehabilitative tool for conferring both cognitive and emotional benefits for older adults. Specifically, mindfulness training's promotion of focused attention may mitigate the decline of attentional control abilities across late development and allow older adults to capitalize on their preserved emotion regulation abilities. Existing evidence points to some improvements in facets of attentional control in older adults, although some studies have shown no benefits in performance. Further, there is evidence of enhancements in both psychological and physical aspects of well-being, and accompanying improvements in systemic inflammation, following mindfulness training. The scientific investigation of mindfulness training is still relatively nascent, with only a limited number of studies, particularly randomized controlled trials utilizing active comparison conditions. It will be important for future research to incorporate placebo-controlled comparison groups to clearly establish the causal role of mindfulness practices in promoting holistic health in older adults.
对正念干预措施在老年样本中的应用兴趣日增，同时也出现了关于其认知、情感和生理益处的有力证据。本综述的目的是概述正念训练对老年人三个功能领域的影响：注意力表现的行为和神经关联、心理健康以及全身炎症。我们之前曾提出，正念训练作为一种康复工具，特别适合为老年人带来认知和情感益处。具体而言，正念训练对集中注意力的促进作用可能会减轻整个成年后期注意力控制能力的下降，并使老年人能够利用其保留的情绪调节能力。现有证据表明老年人在注意力控制方面有所改善，尽管一些研究显示在表现上并无益处。此外，有证据表明，正念训练后，幸福感的心理和生理方面均有所增强，全身炎症也随之改善。正念训练的科学研究仍相对处于初期阶段，研究数量有限，尤其是采用积极对照条件的随机对照试验。未来的研究纳入安慰剂对照比较组，以明确正念练习在促进老年人整体健康方面的因果作用，这将非常重要。
