The Influence of Cognitive Reserve on Strategy Selection in Normal Aging

AbstractCognitive reserve (CR) has been proposed as a latent variable that can account for the frequent discrepancy between an individual's underlying level of brain pathology and their observed clinical outcome. A possible behavioral manifestation of CR is best strategy choice. Older adults have been shown to choose sub-optimal strategies for performing various tasks. The present study attempted to investigate whether greater levels of CR could predict greater strategy selection, particularly in older adults. A computational estimation task was administered to 20 healthy young adults (mean age = 24.7 ± 3.6; 20–31 years) and 18 healthy older adults (68.2 ± 4.5; 62–77 years) wherein participants needed to estimate the product of two two-digit numbers by using one of two strategies. The results revealed an effect of age group on strategy choice and supported the hypothesis that CR is associated with increased strategy selection abilities. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–4)

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Adults’ age-related differences in strategy perseveration are modulated by response-stimulus intervals and problem features

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1080/17470218.2014.939095 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 67 (10) ◽

pp. 1863-1870 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Patrick Lemaire ◽

Fleur Brun

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Young Adults ◽

Strategy Selection ◽

Estimation Task ◽

Computational Estimation ◽

Ageing Effects ◽

Age Related ◽

Response Stimulus

Ageing results in the tendency of older adults to repeat the same strategy across consecutive problems more often than young adults, even when such strategy perseveration is not appropriate. Here, we examined how these age-related differences in strategy perseveration are modulated by response-stimulus intervals and problem characteristics. We asked participants to select the best strategy while accomplishing a computational estimation task (i.e., provide approximate sums to two-digit addition problems like 38 + 74). We found that participants repeated the same strategy across consecutive problems more often when the duration between their response and next problem display was short (300 ms) than when it was long (1300 ms). We also found more strategy perseverations in older than in young adults under short Response-Stimulus Intervals, but not under long Response-Stimulus Intervals. Finally, age-related differences in strategy perseveration decreased when problem features helped participants to select the best strategy. These modulations of age-related differences in strategy perseveration by response-stimulus intervals and characteristics of target problems are important for furthering our understanding of mechanisms underlying strategy perseveration and, more generally, ageing effects on strategy selection.

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Individual differences in children’s strategy selection in a computational estimation task with two versus three available strategies

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology ◽

10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105132 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 208 ◽

pp. 105132

Author(s):

Svenja Hammerstein ◽

Sebastian Poloczek ◽

Patrick Lösche ◽

Gerhard Büttner

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Strategy Selection ◽

Estimation Task ◽

Computational Estimation

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Cognitive Improvement in Healthy Older Adults Can Parallel That of Younger Adults Following Lifestyle Modification: Support for Cognitive Reserve During Aging

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease Reports ◽

10.3233/adr-180056 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 201-205 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Thomas B. Shea ◽

Ruth Remington

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Reserve ◽

Lifestyle Modification ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Improvement

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How should proxies of cognitive reserve be evaluated in a population of healthy older adults?

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610216001745 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 123-136 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Catherine Grotz ◽

Xavier Seron ◽

Marie Van Wissen ◽

Stéphane Adam

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Reserve ◽

Leisure Activities ◽

Accurate Estimation ◽

Clinical Tool ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Training Courses ◽

Proxy Indicators ◽

The Common ◽

Intellectual Activities

ABSTRACTBackground:While some tools have been developed to estimate an individual's cognitive reserve (CR), no study has assessed the adequacy of the method used for assessing these CR proxy indicators. Therefore, we aimed to determine the most appropriate method to estimate CR by comparing two approaches: (1) the common assessment of CR proxies in the literature (e.g. years of education) and (2) the calculation of a comprehensive index based on most significant parameters used in the estimation of CR.Methods:Data on CR proxies (i.e. education, occupation, and leisure activities) were obtained in a sample of 204 older adults. Regression analyses were used to develop the two indices of CR (i.e. ICR-standard and ICR-detailed) and to determine which index best represented the level of one's CR.Results:The ICR-standard was calculated using a combination of the three most common measures of reserve in the literature: number of schooling years, complexity of the primary occupation, and amount of current participation in stimulating activities. The ICR-detailed was calculated using the most significant parameters (established in initial analyses) of CR: highest level of education combined with the number of training courses, last occupation, and amount of current participation in social and intellectual activities. The comparison of both indices showed that higher levels of ICR-standard and ICR-detailed were associated with a greater minimization of the effects of age on cognition. However, the ICR-detailed was more strongly associated to this minimization than the ICR-standard, suggesting that the ICR-detailed best reflect one's CR.Conclusions:This study is the first to show that it is of great importance to question methods measuring CR proxies in order to develop a clinical tool allowing a comprehensive and accurate estimation of CR.

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Verbal intelligence is a more robust cross-sectional measure of cognitive reserve than level of education in healthy older adults

Alzheimer s Research & Therapy ◽

10.1186/s13195-021-00870-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Author(s):

R. Boyle ◽

S. P. Knight ◽

C. De Looze ◽

D. Carey ◽

S. Scarlett ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Executive Function ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Brain Structure ◽

Cognitive Reserve ◽

Cognitive Outcome ◽

Verbal Intelligence ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Occupational Complexity

Abstract Background Cognitive reserve is most commonly measured using socio-behavioural proxy variables. These variables are easy to collect, have a straightforward interpretation, and are widely associated with reduced risk of dementia and cognitive decline in epidemiological studies. However, the specific proxies vary across studies and have rarely been assessed in complete models of cognitive reserve (i.e. alongside both a measure of cognitive outcome and a measure of brain structure). Complete models can test independent associations between proxies and cognitive function in addition to the moderation effect of proxies on the brain-cognition relationship. Consequently, there is insufficient empirical evidence guiding the choice of proxy measures of cognitive reserve and poor comparability across studies. Method In a cross-sectional study, we assessed the validity of 5 common proxies (education, occupational complexity, verbal intelligence, leisure activities, and exercise) and all possible combinations of these proxies in 2 separate community-dwelling older adult cohorts: The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA; N = 313, mean age = 68.9 years, range = 54–88) and the Cognitive Reserve/Reference Ability Neural Network Study (CR/RANN; N = 234, mean age = 64.49 years, range = 50–80). Fifteen models were created with 3 brain structure variables (grey matter volume, hippocampal volume, and mean cortical thickness) and 5 cognitive variables (verbal fluency, processing speed, executive function, episodic memory, and global cognition). Results No moderation effects were observed. There were robust positive associations with cognitive function, independent of brain structure, for 2 individual proxies (verbal intelligence and education) and 16 composites (i.e. combinations of proxies). Verbal intelligence was statistically significant in all models. Education was significant only in models with executive function as the cognitive outcome variable. Three robust composites were observed in more than two-thirds of brain-cognition models: the composites of (1) occupational complexity and verbal intelligence, (2) education and verbal intelligence, and (3) education, occupational complexity, and verbal intelligence. However, no composite had larger average effects nor was more robust than verbal intelligence alone. Conclusion These results support the use of verbal intelligence as a proxy measure of CR in cross-sectional studies of cognitively healthy older adults.

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Validation of a Dynamic Measure of Current Cognitive Reserve in a Longitudinally Assessed Sample of Healthy Older Adults: The Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project

Assessment ◽

10.1177/1073191116685806 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 737-742 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mathew J. Summers ◽

Megan E. Thow ◽

David D. Ward ◽

Nichole L. Saunders ◽

Shannon Z. Klekociuk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Reserve ◽

Healthy Older Adults

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Verbal intelligence is a more robust cross-sectional measure of cognitive reserve than level of education in healthy older adults

10.21203/rs.3.rs-216364/v2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rory Boyle ◽

Silvin P Knight ◽

Céline De Looze ◽

Daniel Carey ◽

Siobhan Scarlett ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Executive Function ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Brain Structure ◽

Cognitive Reserve ◽

Cognitive Outcome ◽

Verbal Intelligence ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Occupational Complexity

Abstract BackgroundCognitive reserve is most commonly measured using socio-behavioural proxy variables. These variables are easy to collect, have a straightforward interpretation, and are widely associated with reduced risk of dementia and cognitive decline in epidemiological studies. However, the specific proxies vary across studies and have rarely been assessed in complete models of cognitive reserve (i.e., alongside both a measure of cognitive outcome and a measure of brain structure). Complete models can test independent associations between proxies and cognitive function in addition to the moderation effect of proxies on the brain-cognition relationship. Consequently, there is insufficient empirical evidence guiding the choice of proxy measures of cognitive reserve and poor comparability across studies.MethodIn a cross-sectional study, we assessed the validity of 5 common proxies (education, occupational complexity, verbal intelligence, leisure activities, and exercise) and all possible combinations of these proxies in 2 separate community-dwelling older adult cohorts: The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA; N = 313, mean age = 68.9 years, range = 54–88) and the Cognitive Reserve/Reference Ability Neural Network Study (CR/RANN; N = 234, mean age = 64.49 years, range = 50–80). 15 models were created with 3 brain structure variables (grey matter volume, hippocampal volume, and mean cortical thickness) and 5 cognitive variables (verbal fluency, processing speed, executive function, episodic memory, and global cognition).ResultsNo moderation effects were observed. There were robust positive associations with cognitive function, independent of brain structure, for 2 individual proxies (verbal intelligence and education), and 16 composites (i.e., combinations of proxies). Verbal intelligence was statistically significant in all models. Education was significant only in models with executive function as the cognitive outcome variable. Three robust composites were observed in more than two thirds of brain-cognition models: the composites of 1) occupational complexity and verbal intelligence, 2) education and verbal intelligence, and 3) education, occupational complexity and verbal intelligence. However, no composite had larger average effects nor was more robust than verbal intelligence alone.ConclusionThese results support the use of verbal intelligence as a proxy measure of CR in cross-sectional studies of cognitively healthy older adults.

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Sleep-Wake Disturbances and Episodic Memory in Older Adults

Biological Research For Nursing ◽

10.1177/1099800420941601 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 109980042094160

Author(s):

An-Yun Yeh ◽

Susan J. Pressler ◽

Donna Algase ◽

Laura M. Struble ◽

Bunny J. Pozehl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Cognitive Reserve ◽

Verbal Learning ◽

Memory Loss ◽

Correlation Coefficients ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Learning Test ◽

The Relationship

Sleep-wake disturbances have been associated with episodic memory loss, but past studies were limited by use of single measures of objective or perceived disturbances. Notably, cognitive reserve and depressive symptoms have been associated with sleep-wake disturbances and poorer episodic memory in older adults. The aims of this study were to determine the relationship between episodic memory and sleep-wake disturbances using objective and perceived measures in older adults and to examine cognitive reserve and depressive symptoms as moderators of this relationship. In this descriptive study, 62 healthy older adults (mean age: 69.9 years; 75.8% women) were recruited from the University of Michigan Clinical Research Program. Objective sleep-wake disturbances were measured by 7-day actigraphy and perceived sleep-wake disturbances by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Episodic memory was measured by the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised. Analyses involved Pearson’s correlation coefficients and hierarchical multiple regression. Results showed that more objectively measured sleep disruption was associated with poorer episodic memory and more perceived daytime sleepiness was associated with better episodic memory. Cognitive reserve and depressive symptoms were not moderators of this relationship. In this study, the relationship between sleep-wake disturbances and episodic memory differed by type of measure, objective or perceived. Future studies are needed using multiple measures of episodic memory to further understand the sleep-wake disturbances and episodic memory relationship in a larger diverse sample of healthy older adults.

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Age-Related Differences in Sequential Modulations of Poorer-Strategy Effects

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000244 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 61 (4) ◽

pp. 253-262 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Patrick Lemaire ◽

Thomas Hinault

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Executive Control ◽

Error Rates ◽

Control Mechanisms ◽

Strategy Execution ◽

Aging Effects ◽

Estimation Task ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Computational Estimation ◽

Age Related

To determine how younger and older adults modulate execution of strategies across successive trials, we asked participants to accomplish a computational estimation task (i.e., provide approximate products to two-digit multiplication problems like 38 × 74). For each problem, they were cued to execute a better versus a poorer strategy. Their performance revealed sequential modulations of poorer-strategy effects (i.e., longer solution times and larger error rates when asked to execute a poorer than a better strategy). That is, poorer-strategy effects were smaller on current problems after using a poorer strategy on preceding problems than after using a better strategy. Moreover, sequential modulations of these poorer-strategy effects were smaller in older than in younger adults, especially older adults with low-cognitive control skills (as measured by conflict adaptation effects in the Simon task). Our findings suggest that these sequential modulations may result from executive control mechanisms, the efficiency of which is known to decrease in older adults. These findings have important implications regarding mechanisms underlying strategy execution and aging effects on strategic variations.

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