Brief mindfulness meditation group training in aphasia: exploring attention, language and psychophysiological outcomes

Abstract

Background: Stroke is currently the leading cause of long-term disability in adults in the United States. There is a need for accessible, low-cost treatments of stroke-related disabilities such as aphasia. Aims: To explore an intervention for aphasia utilizing mindfulness meditation (MM). This preliminary study examines the feasibility of teaching MM to individuals with aphasia. Since physiological measures have not been collected for those with aphasia, the study was also an exploration of the potential attention, language and physiological changes after MM in adults with aphasia during a brief, daily group training. Methods & Procedures:A 5-day MM group training was provided to adults with aphasia (n = 5) with a waitlist control group (n = (3) who engaged in 'mind wandering'. Participants were assigned to groups in a pseudo-random manner. A double baseline (2 days apart) was administered prior to the training and/or control group beginning. Both the training and the control groups met in a group setting. Salivary cortisol, heart rate and heart rate variability were measured during each day for both groups. Measures of attention, auditory comprehension and fluency were collected immediately after the study period and 1 week post-completion. Outcome & Results:This study reinforces findings from previous work indicating that adults with aphasia can learn MM. Although not statistically significant, the training group demonstrated improved fluency immediately after MM; however, changes were not maintained at follow-up. Physiological measures showed little effect associated with MM training. No changes in attention were observed for either group. Conclusion & Implications: This is an emerging area of interest due to the potential low cost of MM training. Furthermore, MM is easily taught to patients, suggesting the possibility for widespread use in clinical practice as a supplement to existing language-focused interventions.

How Responsiveness From a Communication Partner Affects Story Retell in Aphasia: Quantitative and Qualitative Findings

“…Aphasia therapy may address emotional challenge by targeting emotion regulation or training communication partners. Targeting emotion regulation in aphasia therapy could provide PWA with strategies needed to assuage the stress induced by unresponsive partners (Dickinson, Friary, & McCann, 2017;Marshall, Laures-Gore, & Love, 2018). This may also improve social participation in general by helping PWA reduce feelings of fear and anxiety during other challenging communication situations.…”

“…In the present study, participants who attended to unresponsive communication partner behaviors were more likely to become emotionally distressed, which, in turn, affected how they self-evaluated their performance. In fact, only one of the seven participants who provided positive self-evaluations of their story retell performance in the unresponsive partner condition (Dickinson et al, 2017;Marshall et al, 2018). Training in simulated environments that pose greater social challenge than a clinical setting might also be useful.…”

Eastern Thoughts, Western Practices: Meditation and Mindfulness Relaxation Activities for Learning and Well‐Being in Adult and Higher Education

“…Research from neuroscience and psychotherapy keeps confirming positive outcomes associated with meditation techniques for improving health care, including mental health, brain functions, and emotional regulation (Fulton & Cashwell, 2015;Marshall, Laures-Gore, & Love, 2018). The positive effects of Eastern meditation are supported by Western scientific research.…”

“…The positive effects of Eastern meditation are supported by Western scientific research. Research from neuroscience and psychotherapy keeps confirming positive outcomes associated with meditation techniques for improving health care, including mental health, brain functions, and emotional regulation (Fulton & Cashwell, 2015;Marshall, Laures-Gore, & Love, 2018). Chiesa and Seretti (2010) indicate electroencephalographic (EEG) studies reveal a significant increase in alpha and theta activity during meditation.…”

Living the Full Catastrophe: A Mindfulness-Based Program to Support Recovery from Stroke

“…Two weeks of mindfulness meditation exercises were shown to improve post-stroke spasticity [35]; however, the study did not follow-up to assess lasting effects post-intervention. Initial aphasia studies using mindfulness training offer encouraging outcomes, but need further study and attention [36,37]. Mental and physical fatigue is another common difficulty post-stroke, usually due to acquired brain injury (ABI).…”