Cognitive reserve is not associated with improved performance in all cognitive domains

Cognitive reserve beneficially affects cognitive performance, even into advanced age. However, the benefits afforded by high cognitive reserve may not extend to all cognitive domains. This study investigated whether cognitive reserve differentially affects performance on cognitive tasks, in 521 cogn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied neuropsychology. Adult 2018-09, Vol.25 (5), p.473-485
Main Authors: Lavrencic, Louise M., Churches, Owen F., Keage, Hannah A. D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
Attention
cognition
Cognition - physiology
cognitive reserve
Cognitive Reserve - physiology
education
Female
Humans
Inhibition (Psychology)
Male
Maze Learning
Memory - physiology
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
Photic Stimulation
Psychomotor Performance
Statistics as Topic
Verbal Learning
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Summary:Cognitive reserve beneficially affects cognitive performance, even into advanced age. However, the benefits afforded by high cognitive reserve may not extend to all cognitive domains. This study investigated whether cognitive reserve differentially affects performance on cognitive tasks, in 521 cognitively healthy individuals aged 60 to 98 years (Mage = 68, SD = 6.22, 287 female); years of education was used to index cognitive reserve. Cognitive performance variables assessed attention, executive functions, verbal memory, motor performance, orientation, perception of emotion, processing speed, and working memory. Bootstrapped regression analyses revealed that cognitive reserve was associated with attention, executive functions, verbal and working memory, and orientation; and not significantly related to emotion perception, processing speed, or motor performance. Cognitive reserve appears to differentially affect individual cognitive domains, which extends current theory that purports benefits for all domains. This finding highlights the possibility of using tests not (or minimally) associated with cognitive reserve, to screen for cognitive impairment and dementia in late life; these tests will likely best track brain health, free of compensatory neural mechanisms.
ISSN:2327-9095
2327-9109
DOI:10.1080/23279095.2017.1329146