Decreased accumbens-amygdala connectivity is associated with sleep improvement in late-life depression following mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.
J Affect DisordAug 26, 2026 (epub)
Clinical ResearchPsychiatry
Qianwen Wang, Hui Li, Shichang Wang et al.
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In 30 seconds
This randomized controlled trial investigated the impact of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on sleep quality in 60 older adults with late-life depression (LLD). The study found that the MBCT group experienced a significant short-term improvement in global sleep quality, with a difference in PSQI scores of -3.80. Additionally, changes in neural connectivity were linked to sleep improvements.
Key findings
- The MBCT+TAU group showed a greater improvement in global PSQI scores compared to TAU alone (p for interaction = 0.02).
- At Week 8, the difference in change in global PSQI scores was -3.80 (95% CI, -6.50 to -1.10).
- Stable sleep duration increased more in the MBCT+TAU group, with a difference of 0.94 hours (95% CI, 0.17 to 1.71).
- Reduced right nucleus accumbens-left amygdala connectivity during meditation was associated with greater increases in stable sleep duration (r = 0.45, p = 0.013).
Why it matters
Improving sleep quality in late-life depression is crucial, as sleep disturbances can exacerbate depressive symptoms. This study suggests that MBCT may serve as an effective non-pharmacological intervention to enhance sleep in this population.