Education increases reserve against Alzheimer’s disease—evidence from structural MRI analysis

Abstract

IntroductionThe aim of this study was to determine whether years of schooling influences regional cortical thicknesses and volumes in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and healthy age-matched controls.MethodsUsing an automated image analysis pipeline, 33 regional cortical thickness and 15 regional volumes measures from MRI images were determined in 121 subjects with MCI, 121 patients with AD, and 113 controls from AddNeuroMed study. Correlations with years of schooling were determined and more highly and less highly educated subjects compared, controlling for intracranial volume, age, gender, country of origin, cognitive status, and multiple testing.ResultsAfter controlling for confounding factors and multiple testing, in the control group, subjects with more education had larger regional cortical thickness in transverse temporal cortex, insula, and isthmus of cingulate cortex than subjects with less education. However, in the AD group, the subjects with more education had smaller regional cortical thickness in temporal gyrus, inferior and superior parietal gyri, and lateral occipital cortex than the subjects with less education. No significant difference was found in the MCI group.ConclusionEducation may increase regional cortical thickness in healthy controls, leading to increased brain reserve, as well as helping AD patients to cope better with the effects of brain atrophy by increasing cognitive reserve.

Escala de Reserva Cognitiva y envejecimiento

“…Recently, it has been demonstrated that those individuals with more educational years show increased cerebral anales de psicología, 2016, vol. 32, nº 1 (enero) connectivity and more regional volume of the cerebral cortex (Arenaza-Urquijo et al, 2013;Liu et al, 2012). Among Alzheimer's disease patients, more education has been associated with a faster decline in certain cognitive domains, such as abstract reasoning, but at the same time it may help to conserve other cognitive performance (Le Carret et al, 2005).…”

Bases cérébrales et neurofonctionnelles de la réserve dans le vieillissement normal

“…Une étude s'intéressant à l'épaisseur corticale rapporte des résultats assez similaires à ceux retrouvés en VBM. Le gyrus temporal transverse, l'insula et l'isthme du cortex cingulaire étaient plus épais chez les personnes âgées saines avec une réserve élevée [13]. Néanmoins, ces précédents résultats sont à comparer avec ceux d'une étude indiquant qu'un haut niveau de scolarité était associé à la présence d'un cortex plus fin au niveau des régions occipitales latérales droites, temporales moyennes droites et entorhinales gauches [10].…”

What can PET scans tell us about the effect of education on Alzheimer’s disease patients?

“…Structural MRI parameters and CR proxies suggest that, among healthy elders, higher CR scores relate to better preserved global and regional cerebral brain volumes [8]. However, the correlation between CR and brain volume was demonstrated to be negative in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients populations [4]. In particular, when AD groups were analyzed, the more KEYWORDS: 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose n Alzheimer's disease n amyloid PET n brain PET n cognitive reserve educated patients demonstrated smaller regional cortical thickness in the temporoparietal cortex than patients with less education [4,8].…”

“…In particular, neuro psychological and clinical evaluations are sensitive to brain injury and dysfunction, but they lack precise anatomical localization. Therefore, to better understand CR, several studies have been carried out using neuroimaging approaches [2][3][4][5][6]. In these studies, CR has been defined as the difference between an individual's expected cognitive performance, measured by the level of imaging-assessed brain damage, and their actual cognitive performance.…”