Examining cognitive differences in expert meditators and non-meditators older adults.
Florence Requier, Hamed Mohammadi, Harriet Demnitz-King, Marco Schlosser, Géraldine Poisnel, Eric Salmon, Gaël Chételat, Natalie L. Marchant, Antoine Lutz, Fabienne Collette, Florence Allais, Claire André, Eider Arenaza-Urquijo, Julien Asselineau, Sebastian Baez, Martine Batchelor, Axel Beaugonin, Maelle Botton, Pierre Champetier, Anne Chocat, Pascal Delamillieure, Vincent Sayette, Marion Delarue, Titi Dolma, Stéphanie Egret, Francesca Felisatti, Eglantine Ferrand-Devouges, Eric Frison, Francis Gheysen, Julie Gonneaud, Agathe Joret Philippe, Olga M. Klimecki, Elizabeth Kuhn, Brigitte Landeau, Gwendoline Le Du, Valérie Lefranc, Florence Mezenge, Inès Moulinet, Valentin Ourry, Cassandre Palix, Léo Paly, Stefano Poletti, Anne Quillard, Géraldine Rauchs, Corrine Schwimmer, Edelweiss Touron, Caitlin Ware, Tim Whitfield
Scientific reports May 15, 2025 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-00226-9 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractExpert meditators in older age reported less external distraction and performed better on memory tasks compared to non-meditators, while no differences were found in attention, executive function, or global cognitive scores. These cross-sectional findings from 135 non-meditators and 27 expert meditators suggest that prolonged meditation practice may help preserve memory and manage distractions, two cognitive capacities important for healthy aging.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 162 |
| Population | Older adults (non-meditators and expert meditators) from the Medit-Ageing Age-well Study |
| Intervention | meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Attention Executive function Expert meditators Older age Prolonged mindfulness practice |
| Registration | NCT02977819 |
| Key finding | Expert meditators reported less external distraction and had better memory than non-meditators, but no group differences were observed in attention, executive function, or global cognition. |
Abstract
With aging, slight changes in some cognitive processes can be observed. Therefore, we aimed to assess if meditation expertise is associated with preserved cognition in key domains affected in aging. We used data from two older-adult samples of the Medit-Ageing Age-well Study: 135 non-meditators and 27 expert meditators. We examined group differences in four objective cognitive domains (attention, executive functioning, episodic memory, and global cognition) and three subjective scores: Cognitive Difficulties Scale (CDS) total score as well as Attentional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) internal and external scores using generalized mixed effect models, controlling for age, sex, and education. We did not observe group differences on attentional, executive and global cognitive scores or on ASQ internal score and CDS total score. However, meditators reported less external distraction (ASQ external score) and had better memory than non-meditators. These cross-sectional results indicate a better management of external stimuli and higher memory performance in expert meditators. Memory difficulties and distractions being the main complaints of older people, prolonged meditation practice could lead them to greater cognitive capacities important for healthy aging.Trial registration: NCT02977819 (ClinicalTrials.gov).