Sending your grandparents to university increases cognitive reserve: The Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project.
نویسندگان
چکیده
OBJECTIVE Increasing an individual's level of cognitive reserve (CR) has been suggested as a nonpharmacological approach to reducing the risk for Alzheimer's disease. We examined changes in CR in older adults participating over 4 years in the Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project. METHOD A sample of 459 healthy older adults between 50 and 79 years of age underwent a comprehensive annual assessment of current CR, neuropsychological function, and psychosocial factors over a 4-year period. The intervention group of 359 older adults (M = 59.61 years, SD = 6.67) having completed a minimum of 12 months part-time university study were compared against a control reference group of 100 adults (M = 62.49 years, SD = 6.24) who did not engage in further education. RESULTS Growth mixture modeling demonstrated that 44.3% of the control sample showed no change in CR, whereas 92.5% of the further education participants displayed a significant linear increase in CR over the 4 years of the study. These results indicate that older adults engaging in high-level mental stimulation display an increase in CR over a 4-year period. CONCLUSION Increasing mental activity in older adulthood may be a viable strategy to improve cognitive function and offset cognitive decline associated with normal aging. (PsycINFO Database Record
منابع مشابه
Sending Your Grandparents to University Increases Cognitive Reserve
Objective: Increasing an individual’s level of cognitive reserve (CR) has been suggested as a nonpharmacological approach to reducing the risk for Alzheimer’s disease. We examined changes in CR in older adults participating over 4 years in the Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project. Method: A sample of 459 healthy older adults between 50 and 79 years of age underwent a comprehensive annual assessment ...
متن کاملThe Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project (THBP): a prospective longitudinal examination of the effect of university-level education in older adults in preventing age-related cognitive decline and reducing the risk of dementia.
BACKGROUND Differences in the level of cognitive compromise between individuals following brain injury are thought to arise from underlying differences in cognitive reserve. The level of cognitive reserve attained by an individual is influenced by both genetic and life experience factors such as educational attainment and occupational history. The Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project (THBP) is a wor...
متن کاملThe BDNF Val66Met polymorphism moderates the effect of cognitive reserve on 36-month cognitive change in healthy older adults
INTRODUCTION Cognitive reserve (CR) and BDNF Val66Met are independently associated with the rate of cognitive decline in preclinical Alzheimer's disease. This study was designed to investigate the interactive effects of these variables on 36-month cognitive change in cognitively intact older adults. METHODS Data for this investigation were obtained from 445 community-residing participants of ...
متن کاملFurther education improves cognitive reserve and triggers improvement in selective cognitive functions in older adults: The Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project
INTRODUCTION The strong link between early-life education and subsequent reduced risk of dementia suggests that education in later life could enhance cognitive function and may reduce age-related cognitive decline and protect against dementia. METHODS Episodic memory, working memory, executive function, and language processing performances were assessed annually over 4 years in 359 healthy ol...
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عنوان ژورنال:
- Neuropsychology
دوره 30 5 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2016