Effects of mindfulness meditation on attention processes in people with aphasia

PURPOSE: People with post-stroke aphasia show verbal-language difficulties and verbal working memory problems, but can also present with attention-related deficits. Meditation can positively impact attention in healthy meditators; however, few studies have investigated effects of meditation on different attention processes in people with aphasia. The aim of this study was to explore whether an intensive meditation training could enhance attention processes in people with aphasia, while also testing for potential generalisation to verbal language processes. METHOD: Five people with chronic aphasia with anomia, good comprehension, and no meditation experience, joined a 9-week meditation training. Repeated pre- and post-training measures of attention and verbal language were collected, as well as repeated ratings of perceived impact on participants' attentional focus, everyday attention and word finding abilities. RESULT: Prior to training, participants showed deficits in at least one visual and/or auditory attention task in addition to word retrieval and verbal working memory deficits. Four participants showed gains on at least one measure of non-verbal attention following meditation training. No gains in verbal-language skills were observed except for one participant. CONCLUSION: Visual and auditory attention can be enhanced independently of verbal-language skills in people with aphasia when engaging in regular meditation practice.