Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Post-Stroke Cognition

The investigators don't fully understand how, regardless of the size or location in the brain, minor strokes can result in significant problems with focus, attention, and multi-tasking that prevent individuals from returning to an active lifestyle, and negatively impact quality of life; but the investigators' preliminary data using magnetoencephalography (MEG) suggest that there may be disruption of the neuronal network and abnormal frontal lobe activity in the brain after stroke. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is effective at treating frontal lobe dysfunction in the form of anxiety and depression occurring during the chronic phase of stroke recovery. The aim of this study is to use MBSR to improve other forms of frontal lobe dysfunction (cognitive outcomes) during the subacute phase of recovery, when patients are making critical decisions regarding patients' ability to return to work or live independently; and to use MEG, a tool capable of imaging brain activity and neuronal networks, to understand the brain changes that correspond to improvement after treatment.