Cognitive reserve: The warehouse within

Abstract

Dementia is characterized by progressive and mostly irreversible memory loss. Other neuropsychiatric disorders affect cognition in varying manner. Are all people affected with such disorders manifest clinically in similar manner or does our brain have some reserve to tolerate insults? Relevant researches over the last two decades were scrutinized to understand brain reserve, appreciate the conceptual change in the same over years, and how the same can be improved for better cognition and memory over the year. Literature evidence suggests that the cognitive reserve (CR) is a dynamic and functional concept. There is adequate evidence to suggest that enriched environment and various other measures are likely to improve CR across all age. Improving CR may delay or reverse the effects of aging or brain pathology.

Cognitive impairment among patients with diabetes in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study

“…In the current study, low level of education was significantly associated with the degree of cognitive impairment. This finding is also supported by Prakash et al [44] who demonstrated that the higher the educational level, the lesser the risk of cognitive impairment. Similarly, Yerrapragada et al [1] showed that low level of education is associated with lower cognitive scores.…”

Volume and Connectivity of the Ventral Tegmental Area are Linked to Neurocognitive Signatures of Alzheimer’s Disease in Humans

“…On this note, if the preclinical stage of AD consists of a reduction of semantic encoding abilities, then it is unsurprising that low levels of education are one of the crucial risk factors for developing the disease. This may shed new light on the role of education levels as integral part of the concept of cognitive reserve, a well-established protecting factor for the onset of AD symptoms [45].…”

Cognitive Dysfunction Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Karnataka, India

“…Evidence for this association conflicts. Prakash et al 35 and Brayne and Calloway 36 showed that higher educational attainment is associated with reduced chance of cognitive impairment. On the other hand, studies by Andel et al 37 and Stern et al 38 showed that education attainment was associated with accelerated cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer disease.…”