***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Therapeutic interventions that incorporate training in mindfulness meditation have become increasingly popular , but to date little is known about neural mechanisms associated with these interventions . Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction ( MBSR ) , one of the most widely used mindfulness training programs , has been reported to produce positive effects on psychological well-being and to ameliorate symptoms of a number of disorders . Here , we report a controlled longitudinal study to investigate pre-post changes in brain gray matter concentration attributable to participation in an MBSR program . Anatomical magnetic resonance ( MR ) images from 16 healthy , meditation-naïve participants were obtained before and after they underwent the 8-week program . Changes in gray matter concentration were investigated using voxel-based morphometry , and compared with a waiting list control group of 17 individuals . Analyses in a priori regions of interest confirmed increases in gray matter concentration within the left hippocampus . Whole brain analyses identified increases in the posterior cingulate cortex , the temporo-parietal junction , and the cerebellum in the MBSR group compared with the controls . The results suggest that participation in MBSR is associated with changes in gray matter concentration in brain regions involved in learning and memory processes , emotion regulation , self-referential processing , and perspective taking BACKGROUND This study examined the effects of brief daily yogic meditation on mental health , cognitive functioning , and immune cell telomerase activity in family dementia caregivers with mild depressive symptoms . METHODS Thirty-nine family dementia caregivers ( mean age 60.3 years old ( SD = 10.2 ) ) were r and omized to practicing Kirtan Kriya or listening to relaxation music for 12 min per day for 8 weeks . The severity of depressive symptoms , mental and cognitive functioning were assessed at baseline and follow-up . Telomerase activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells ( PMBC ) was examined in peripheral P BMC pre-intervention and post-intervention . RESULTS The meditation group showed significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms and greater improvement in mental health and cognitive functioning compared with the relaxation group . In the meditation group , 65.2 % showed 50 % improvement on the Hamilton Depression Rating scale and 52 % of the participants showed 50 % improvement on the Mental Health Composite Summary score of the Short Form-36 scale compared with 31.2 % and 19 % , respectively , in the relaxation group ( p < 0.05 ) . The meditation group showed 43 % improvement in telomerase activity compared with 3.7 % in the relaxation group ( p = 0.05 ) . CONCLUSION This pilot study found that brief daily meditation practice s by family dementia caregivers can lead to improved mental and cognitive functioning and lower levels of depressive symptoms . This improvement is accompanied by an increase in telomerase activity suggesting improvement in stress-induced cellular aging . These results need to be confirmed in a larger sample OBJECTIVE To examine change in cognitive function in older persons sample d from a community population , and its relation to age and Alzheimer disease . DESIGN Prospect i ve cohort study with an average of 3.5 years of follow-up . SETTING East Boston , Mass -- a geographically defined , urban , working-class community . PARTICIPANTS A stratified , r and om sample of persons 65 years and older underwent uniform , structured clinical evaluation for Alzheimer disease . The 388 persons ( 89.2 % of those eligible ) who completed at least 1 annual follow-up evaluation were studied : 97 had Alzheimer disease at baseline ; 95 developed Alzheimer disease during the study ; and 196 were unaffected . OUTCOME MEASURES Eight  cognitive performance tests  were administered , then converted to population -weighted z scores and averaged to create a composite summary measure of cognitive function . Initial level of and change in this score were the outcome measures . RESULTS In the population as a whole , many persons experienced a decline in cognitive performance , and age was related to both initial level and rate of decline . Analyses were conducted in 3 subgroups : persons with Alzheimer disease at baseline , those who developed Alzheimer disease during the study , and those who remained unaffected . In both Alzheimer disease subgroups , substantial cognitive decline was observed , but neither initial level nor rate of decline was related to age . In unaffected persons , little cognitive decline was evident , and there was a small , inverse association of age with initial level of cognitive function . CONCLUSION In a general population sample , there was little evidence of cognitive decline during a 3.5-year period among persons who remained free of Alzheimer disease Recent studies suggest that months to years of intensive and systematic meditation training can improve attention . However , the lengthy training required has made it difficult to use r and om assignment of participants to conditions to confirm these findings . This article shows that a group r and omly assigned to 5 days of meditation practice with the integrative body – mind training method shows significantly better attention and control of stress than a similarly chosen control group given relaxation training . The training method comes from traditional Chinese medicine and incorporates aspects of other meditation and mindfulness training . Compared with the control group , the experimental group of 40 undergraduate Chinese students given 5 days of 20-min integrative training showed greater improvement in conflict scores on the Attention Network Test , lower anxiety , depression , anger , and fatigue , and higher vigor on the Profile of Mood States scale , a significant decrease in stress-related cortisol , and an increase in immunoreactivity . These results provide a convenient method for study ing the influence of meditation training by using experimental and control methods similar to those used to test drugs or other interventions Flaws in the design , conduct , analysis , and reporting of r and omised trials can cause the effect of an intervention to be underestimated or overestimated . The Cochrane Collaboration ’s tool for assessing risk of bias aims to make the process clearer and more Mindfulness meditation is a set of attention-based , regulatory , and self-inquiry training regimes . Although the impact of mindfulness training ( MT ) on self-regulation is well established , the neural mechanisms supporting such plasticity are poorly understood . MT is thought to act through interoceptive salience and attentional control mechanisms , but until now conflicting evidence from behavioral and neural measures renders difficult distinguishing their respective roles . To resolve this question we conducted a fully r and omized 6 week longitudinal trial of MT , explicitly controlling for cognitive and treatment effects with an active-control group . We measured behavioral metacognition and whole-brain blood oxygenation level-dependent ( BOLD ) signals using functional MRI during an affective Stroop task before and after intervention in healthy human subjects . Although both groups improved significantly on a response-inhibition task , only the MT group showed reduced affective Stroop conflict . Moreover , the MT group displayed greater dorsolateral prefrontal cortex responses during executive processing , consistent with increased recruitment of top-down mechanisms to resolve conflict . In contrast , we did not observe overall group-by-time interactions on negative affect-related reaction times or BOLD responses . However , only participants with the greatest amount of MT practice showed improvements in response inhibition and increased recruitment of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex , medial prefrontal cortex , and right anterior insula during negative valence processing . Our findings highlight the importance of active control in MT research , indicate unique neural mechanisms for progressive stages of mindfulness training , and suggest that optimal application of MT may differ depending on context , contrary to a one-size-fits-all approach We investigated the impact of mindfulness training ( MT ) on working memory capacity ( WMC ) and affective experience . WMC is used in managing cognitive dem and s and regulating emotions . Yet , persistent and intensive dem and s , such as those experienced during high-stress intervals , may deplete WMC and lead to cognitive failures and emotional disturbances . We hypothesized that MT may mitigate these deleterious effects by bolstering WMC . We recruited 2 military cohorts during the high-stress predeployment interval and provided MT to 1 ( MT , n = 31 ) but not the other group ( military control group , MC , n = 17 ) . The MT group attended an 8-week MT course and logged the amount of out-of-class time spent practicing formal MT exercises . The operation span task was used to index WMC at 2 testing sessions before and after the MT course . Although WMC remained stable over time in civilians ( n = 12 ) , it de grade d in the MC group . In the MT group , WMC decreased over time in those with low MT practice time , but increased in those with high practice time . Higher  MT practice time also corresponded to lower levels of negative affect and higher levels of positive affect ( indexed by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule ) . The relationship between practice time and negative , but not positive , affect was mediated by WMC , indicating that MT-related improvements in WMC may support some but not all of MT 's salutary effects . Nonetheless , these findings suggest that sufficient MT practice may protect against functional impairments associated with high-stress context Mindfulness training aims to impact emotion regulation . Generalized anxiety disorder ( GAD ) symptoms can be successfully addressed through mindfulness-based interventions . This preliminary study is the first to investigate neural mechanisms of symptom improvements in GAD following mindfulness training . Furthermore , we compared brain activation between GAD patients and healthy participants at baseline . 26 patients with a current DSM-IV GAD diagnosis were r and omized to an 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction ( MBSR , N = 15 ) or a stress management education ( SME , N = 11 ) active control program .  26 healthy participants were included for baseline comparisons . BOLD response was assessed with fMRI during affect labeling of angry and neutral facial expressions . At baseline , GAD patients showed higher amygdala activation than healthy participants in response to neutral , but not angry faces , suggesting that ambiguous stimuli reveal stronger reactivity in GAD patients . In patients , amygdala activation in response to neutral faces decreased following both interventions . BOLD response in ventrolateral prefrontal regions ( VLPFC ) showed greater increase in MBSR than SME participants . Functional connectivity between amygdala and PFC regions increased significantly pre- to post-intervention within the MBSR , but not SME group . Both , change in VLPFC activation and amygdala – prefrontal connectivity were correlated with change in Beck Anxiety Inventory ( BAI ) scores , suggesting clinical relevance of these changes . Amygdala – prefrontal connectivity turned from negative coupling ( typically seen in down-regulation of emotions ) , to positive coupling ; potentially suggesting a unique mechanism of mindfulness . Findings suggest that in GAD , mindfulness training leads to changes in fronto-limbic areas crucial for the regulation of emotion ; these changes correspond with reported symptom improvements Background / Aims : Mindfulness-based stress reduction ( MBSR ) has enhanced cognition , positive emotion , and immunity in younger and middle-aged sample s ; its benefits are less well known for older persons . Here we report on a r and omized controlled trial of MBSR for older adults and its effects on executive function , left frontal asymmetry of the EEG alpha b and , and antibody response . Methods : Older adults ( n = 201 ) were r and omized to MBSR or waiting list control . The outcome measures were : the Trail Making Test part B/A ( Trails B/A ) ratio , a measure of executive function ; changes in left frontal alpha asymmetry , an indicator of positive emotions or approach motivation ; depression , mindfulness , and perceived stress scores , and the immunoglobulin G response to a protein antigen , a measure of adaptive immunity . Results : MBSR participants had a lower Trails B/A ratio immediately after intervention ( p < 0.05 ) ; reduced shift to rightward frontal alpha activation after intervention ( p = 0.03 ) ; higher baseline antibody levels after intervention ( p < 0.01 ) , but lower antibody responses 24 weeks after antigen challenge ( p < 0.04 ) , and improved mindfulness after intervention ( p = 0.023 ) and at 21 weeks of follow-up ( p = 0.006 ) . Conclusions : MBSR produced small but significant changes in executive function , mindfulness , and sustained left frontal alpha asymmetry . The antibody findings at follow-up were unexpected . Further study of the effects of MBSR on immune function should assess changes in antibody responses in comparison to T-cell-mediated effector functions , which decline as a function of age Cardiovascular fitness is thought to offset declines in cognitive performance , but little is known about the cortical mechanisms that underlie these changes in humans . Research using animal models shows that aerobic training increases cortical capillary supplies , the number of synaptic connections , and the development of new neurons . The end result is a brain that is more efficient , plastic , and adaptive , which translates into better performance in aging animals . Here , in two separate experiments , we demonstrate for the first time to our knowledge , in humans that increases in cardiovascular fitness results in increased functioning of key aspects of the attentional network of the brain during a cognitively challenging task . Specifically , highly fit ( Study 1 ) or aerobically trained ( Study 2 ) persons show greater task-related activity in regions of the prefrontal and parietal cortices that are involved in spatial selection and inhibitory functioning , when compared with low-fit ( Study 1 ) or nonaerobic control ( Study 2 ) participants . Additionally , in both studies there exist groupwise differences in activation of the anterior cingulate cortex , which is thought to monitor for conflict in the attentional system , and signal the need for adaptation in the attentional network . These data suggest that increased cardiovascular fitness can affect improvements in the plasticity of the aging human brain , and may serve to reduce both biological and cognitive senescence in humans To explore neural correlates of cognitive decline in aging , we used longitudinal behavioral data to identify two groups of older adults ( n = 40 ) that differed with regard to whether their performance on tests of episodic memory remained stable or declined over a 
    Output:
    
We conclude that meditation interventions for older adults are feasible , and preliminary evidence suggests that meditation can offset age-related cognitive decline