Grief, Mindfulness and Neural Predictors of Improvement in Family Dementia Caregivers.

ABSTRACT: Background: Family dementia caregivers often suffer from an immense toll of grief while caring for their loved ones. We sought to identify the clinical relationship between grief, depression and mindfulness and identify neural predictors of symptomatology and improvement. Methods: Twenty three family dementia caregivers were assessed at baseline for grief, mindfulness and depression, of which 17 underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). During fMRI, caregivers were shown faces of either their dementia-stricken relative or that of a stranger, paired with grief-related or neutral words. In nine subjects, post fMRI scans were also obtained after 4 weeks of either guided imagery or relaxation. Robust regression was used to predict changes in symptoms with longitudin

SUBMITTER: Jain FA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6530345 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature