Digital Intervention, EEG, Emotions, fMRI, Loneliness, Meditation, Older Adults
Conditions
Brief summary
Assess the impact of a remote, app-delivered digital meditation intervention on emotional well-being of lonely older adults. Neuroimaging, electrophysiological (EEG), and autonomic physiology will be used to assess the neural correlates of the intervention. EEG and autonomic physiology will be collected while participants watch 30 min of an awe-inspiring movie. fMRI and autonomic physiology will be collected in the context of a social exploration/exploitation task.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALintervention
the digital meditation app will be installed on participants iPad or android. Lonely older adults will use the app five days a week for six weeks total. Neuroimaging will be performed before and after the intervention.
BEHAVIORALwaitlist control
Participants in the waitlist group will have to wait six weeks after being screened before being able to use the meditation app after the assessment of primary and secondary endpoints
OTHERNo Interventions
No intervention. Only baseline fMRI and EEG assessment.
Sponsors
University of California, San Francisco
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
60 Years to 120 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* 60 years of age or older * English language fluency * Naive to meditation practices (not actively meditating more than one hour per month and/or meditation practice for less than a year in their entire life-time) * No MRI contra-indications * Cognitively healthy (no diagnosis of dementia, stroke, developmental disorders, or major systemic diseases that may impact cognitive function)
Exclusion criteria
* Below 60 years of age * Not fluent in English * Active meditator (meditating more than one hour per month and/or meditation practice for more than a year in their entire life-time). * Presence of a severe psychiatric (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD), neurological (epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, dementia, multiple sclerosis), or developmental disorder (e.g. autism) * Systemic disease (e.g. major recent surgeries, cancer) * Claustrophobia * Contraindications for MR safety (e.g. metal in body, cochlea implants)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in the WHO-5 Well-Being Index | Change in well-being from baseline to directly after completing the intervention (6 weeks) | WHO-5 ranges from 0-25, with higher values indicating higher well-being |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in the 20-item UCLA loneliness scale | Change in loneliness from baseline to directly after completing the intervention (6 weeks) | This scale ranges from 20-80, with higher values indicating higher loneliness |
| Change in the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) | Change in anxiety from baseline to directly after completing the intervention (6 weeks) | This scale ranges from 0-21, with higher values indicating higher anxiety |
| Change in Psychological Stress Measure (PSM-9) | Change in stress from baseline to directly after completing the intervention (6 weeks) | This scale ranges from 9-72, with higher values indicating higher stress |
| Change in Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) | Change in depression from baseline to directly after completing the intervention (6 weeks) | This scale ranges from 0-27, with higher values indicating higher depression |
Countries
United States
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORLorenzo Pasquini, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
Outcome results
None listed