Effects of Meditation and Mind-Body Exercises on Older Adults' Cognitive Performance: A Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Meditation and mind-body exercises are suggested to delay decline or enhance cognitive capabilities in older adults. However, their effectiveness remains uncertain. This study assessed the effectiveness of meditation and mind-body exercises to improve cognition in elderly people aged 60 years or above. Moderator variables were also explored. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A databases search (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, and Wangfang) was conducted from the first available date to January 10, 2018. Inclusion criteria include (a) human older adults aged 60 years or above, (b) meditation, Tai Chi, Qigong, or yoga intervention, (c) intervention should be structured, (d) inclusion of a control group, (e) at least one outcome measure of cognition was measured at baseline and post-training, and (f) peer-reviewed journal articles in English or Chinese. RESULTS: Forty-one studies (N = 3,551) were included in the meta-analysis. In general, meditation and mind-body exercises improve cognition in the elderly people (SMD = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.19 to 0.48), but the cognition-enhancing effects depend on the type of exercise. In addition, cognitive performance is only improved when the length of intervention is longer than 12 weeks, exercise frequency is 3-7 times/week, or duration of an exercise session is 45-60 min/session. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: This study suggests that meditation and mind-body exercises are effective to improve cognition of older adults aged 60 years or above, and exercise parameters should be considered for intervention planning.

Special Issue - Therapeutic Benefits of Physical Activity for Mood: A Systematic Review on the Effects of Exercise Intensity, Duration, and Modality.

In contemporary society, people experience considerable stress in their daily lives. Therefore, developing effective approaches and convenient means to cope with their mood problems is important nowadays. Physical activity has been consistently reported as a cost-effective way to improve physical fitness, prevent mental illnesses, and alleviate mood problems. In this systematic review, the effects of exercise intensity, duration, and modality on mood change are discussed. Results show that moderate-intensity anaerobic exercise is associated with greater mood improvements. The relationship between exercise duration and mood change is non-linear; A regime of 10- to 30-minute exercise is sufficient for mood improvements. For exercise modality, anaerobic exercise improves mood, but the efficacy of aerobic and mindfulness-related exercises remains to be further examined. In addition to the systematic review of potential moderators, a narrative review of psychological and neurophysiological theories of exercise effects on mood is provided; we have highlighted the central role of neuroplasticity in integrating the two classes of theories. An adoption of neuroimaging techniques in future research is critical to reveal the mechanisms underpinning the therapeutic influence of physical activity on affective responses. Some future research directions are also raised.

Dysfunctional preparatory processes in hazardous drinkers: An ERP study.

Alcohol drinking is associated with impaired cognitive and motor performance. This electrophysiological study examined the differences in the preparatory processes preceding motor imagery (visual and kinesthetic) and execution between hazardous drinkers and non-hazardous drinking controls. Twenty-two hazardous drinkers and 22 non-hazardous drinking controls were recruited to participate in the study. They were required to produce a 3-key response sequence physically or mentally 3 s after the appearance of a corresponding cue. Here we showed significantly smaller amplitudes of both early and late negative contingent variation in hazardous drinkers compared to controls. In addition, the early negative contingent variation preceding motor execution was greater than those in the motor imagery conditions in both groups. Results of this study suggest impairments of attentional control and motor preparation in hazardous drinkers. Preparatory processes of motor execution and motor imagery mainly differ from each other in voluntary attention orientation, but not in motor preparation.