Mental training affects electrophysiological markers of attention resource allocation in healthy older adults

Abstract

Aging is associated with a decline in performance and speed of attentional processing. Mindfulness has been shown to enhance attentional performance, however evidence of this is lacking in aging cohorts. A longitudinal RCT was conducted to examine the effect of mindfulness training on attentional performance in healthy older adults (n = 49) together with an active control computer-based attention training group (n = 30). While both groups displayed decreased N2 amplitudes at frontal and central regions during an auditory oddball task after training, only the mindfulness group showed reductions in frontal N2 and P3 latency. These results suggest that programs targeting sustained attention may result in efficient allocation of attentional resources in older adults. In particular, mindfulness may enhance the speed of attentional processes which are known to decline in aging, thereby providing benefits against age-related cognitive decline.