Mild cognitive impairment linked to lower mindfulness and weaker brain connections for emotion regulation

People experiencing early signs of memory problems may also struggle with mindfulness, a mental trait that involves focusing on the present moment, a new study published in the journal Mindfulness suggests. Researchers examined older adults with subjective cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment to understand how changes in brain structure and activity relate to differences in mindfulness. The findings indicate that mindfulness levels drop as cognitive challenges grow, and point to changes in a brain area linked to emotional regulation as an important part of this shift.

The prevalence of dementia is rising sharply across the globe. The number of people living with this condition doubled between 1990 and 2016, and by 2050, one in every 85 people worldwide may be affected. Before overt signs of dementia appear, many people experience changes in their thinking and memory.

These early changes can range from subjective cognitive decline, where a person feels their memory is worsening despite testing normally, to mild cognitive impairment, where test results reveal noticeable lapses in thinking that still do not affect daily life. Understanding how mindfulness levels shift along this path, and which brain changes accompany them, could open the door to new ways of supporting people in early cognitive decline.

Mindfulness has gained attention for its potential role in preserving cognitive health. Defined as a focused, accepting awareness of the present moment, it can be developed intentionally through practice, but it also exists as a natural trait that varies from person to person. Earlier studies have linked mindfulness to improved attention and memory, as well as changes in brain areas related to emotion and focus. But almost all such studies have been conducted in people with no cognitive issues. This new research aimed to fill the gap by exploring mindfulness in older adults who were experiencing subjective cognitive decline or mild cognitive impairment.

The team recruited 90 participants between the ages of roughly 66 and 69 from the Czech Brain Aging Study. All volunteers had been classified as having either subjective cognitive decline (48 people) or mild cognitive impairment (31 people). Everyone underwent a battery of tests, including clinical interviews, cognitive testing, and brain scans. To measure mindfulness, researchers used a behavioural approach called the Breath Counting Task, which asks people to focus on their breathing and count from one to nine repeatedly. Each person performed this task for 18 minutes, pressing a key every time they counted to nine. The researchers then calculated how accurately participants kept track of their breathing counts.

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Each person also had magnetic resonance scans conducted, including structural scans to measure brain volume, diffusion scans to assess tissue health, and resting‑state scans to measure connectivity between brain areas. The team focused on brain regions implicated in attention, emotion, and self‑awareness, such as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, and the posterior cingulate cortex.

The results showed a clear difference in mindfulness levels between the two groups. The participants with mild cognitive impairment performed worse on the Breath Counting Task than those with subjective cognitive decline. This suggests that people further along the path of cognitive decline may struggle more with focusing attention and sustaining present‑moment awareness.

Interestingly, the researchers found that higher activity and connectivity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex was associated with better breath‑counting performance in the group with mild cognitive impairment, but not in those with subjective cognitive decline. This area of the brain is thought to play an important role in emotional regulation and in controlling internal thoughts and distractions. In people with mild cognitive impairment, a stronger link between this area and other brain regions appeared to support their ability to stay mindful despite the early signs of cognitive loss.

In contrast, no significant connections emerged between mindfulness and other brain areas tested. The volume and tissue health of the hippocampus, the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, and the posterior cingulate cortex were not linked to performance on the Breath Counting Task. The researchers also found no evidence that scores for verbal memory, attention, or executive function predicted mindfulness abilities in either group.

These findings highlight that mindfulness levels vary across early stages of cognitive decline and point to a specific role for the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in supporting mindfulness when cognition is under strain. This area of the brain is involved in making sense of emotions and controlling internal mental activity, and its role may become more important as other cognitive abilities begin to wane.

The results are in line with earlier studies conducted in healthy adults, which have found that stronger activity in this part of the brain supports better emotional resilience and attention. It is also in line with clinical observations that mindfulness training can aid older adults experiencing changes in memory and thinking. The findings support the idea that mindfulness might be especially relevant for those with mild cognitive impairment, who could benefit from exercises that focus attention and reduce emotional reactivity.

The researchers acknowledge that the study has limitations. Its cross‑sectional design means that it can only describe links between mindfulness and brain activity at one point in time. It cannot establish that changes in brain connectivity cause changes in mindfulness. The results also stem from a specific group of volunteers recruited from one clinical setting, making it unclear how well the findings apply to a more diverse population.

Additionally, the study only included participants with subjective cognitive decline or mild cognitive impairment, making it challenging to understand how these findings compare with people with more advanced forms of dementia or with completely healthy cognition.

Future studies could track changes in mindfulness and brain activity over longer periods to clarify how these relationships evolve as cognitive decline progresses. Including a wider range of participants could shed more light on the role that mindfulness might play in the prevention or management of cognitive loss across different populations. Another avenue for future research is to investigate how mindfulness training affects the brain in people with mild cognitive impairment and to determine whether such interventions could help preserve mental focus and emotional resilience as cognitive changes occur.

The study, “Present Mind in the Ageing Brain: Neural Associations of Dispositional Mindfulness in Cognitive Decline,” was authored by Rastislav Šumec, Pavel Filip, Martin Vyhnálek, Stanislav Katina, Dusana Dorjee, Jakub Hort, and Kateřina Sheardová.