scholarly journals Brain structure and cognitive ability in healthy aging: a review on longitudinal correlated change

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Oschwald ◽  
Sabrina Guye ◽  
Franziskus Liem ◽  
Philippe Rast ◽  
Sherry Willis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Memory Processing ◽  
Theory Of Aging ◽  
Specific Cognitive Abilities

Abstract Little is still known about the neuroanatomical substrates related to changes in specific cognitive abilities in the course of healthy aging, and the existing evidence is predominantly based on cross-sectional studies. However, to understand the intricate dynamics between developmental changes in brain structure and changes in cognitive ability, longitudinal studies are needed. In the present article, we review the current longitudinal evidence on correlated changes between magnetic resonance imaging-derived measures of brain structure (e.g. gray matter/white matter volume, cortical thickness), and laboratory-based measures of fluid cognitive ability (e.g. intelligence, memory, processing speed) in healthy older adults. To theoretically embed the discussion, we refer to the revised Scaffolding Theory of Aging and Cognition. We found 31 eligible articles, with sample sizes ranging from n = 25 to n = 731 (median n = 104), and participant age ranging from 19 to 103. Several of these studies report positive correlated changes for specific regions and specific cognitive abilities (e.g. between structures of the medial temporal lobe and episodic memory). However, the number of studies presenting converging evidence is small, and the large methodological variability between studies precludes general conclusions. Methodological and theoretical limitations are discussed. Clearly, more empirical evidence is needed to advance the field. Therefore, we provide guidance for future researchers by presenting ideas to stimulate theory and methods for development.

scholarly journals Genetic Underpinnings of Increased BMI and Its Association With Late Midlife Cognitive Abilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 233372142092526
Author(s):  
Hong Xian ◽  
Brian Boutwell ◽  
Chandra A. Reynolds ◽  
Daphne Lew ◽  
Mark Logue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Risk Scores ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Memory Processing ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Bmi Trajectories ◽  
Multilevel Linear Regression

Objectives: First, we test for differences in various cognitive abilities across trajectories of body mass index (BMI) over the later life course. Second, we examine whether genetic risk factors for unhealthy BMIs—assessed via polygenic risk scores (PRS)—predict cognitive abilities in late-life. Methods: The study used a longitudinal sample of Vietnam veteran males to explore the associations between BMI trajectories, measured across four time points, and later cognitive abilities. The sample of 977 individuals was drawn from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging. Cognitive abilities evaluated included executive function, abstract reasoning, episodic memory, processing speed, verbal fluency, and visual spatial ability. Multilevel linear regression models were used to estimate the associations between BMI trajectories and cognitive abilities. Then, BMI PRS was added to the models to evaluate polygenic associations with cognitive abilities. Results: There were no significant differences in cognitive ability between any of the BMI trajectory groups. There was a significant inverse relationship between BMI-PRS and several cognitive ability measures. Discussion: While no associations emerged for BMI trajectories and cognitive abilities at the phenotypic levels, BMI PRS measures did correlate with key cognitive domains. Our results suggest possible polygenic linkages cutting across key components of the central and peripheral nervous system.

A Quantitative Genetic Analysis of Cognitive Abilities during the Second Half of the Life Span

1992 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 346-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.L. Pedersen ◽  
R. Plomin ◽  
J.R. Nesselroade ◽  
G.E. McClearn
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Identical Twins ◽  
Early Age ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Perceptual Speed ◽  
Twin Design ◽  
Quantitative Genetic ◽  
Specific Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Data

Little is known about the importance of genetic effects on individual differences in cognitive abilities late in life. We present the first report from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA) for cognitive data, including general cognitive ability and 13 tests of specific cognitive abilities. The adoption/twin design consists of identical twins separated at an early age and reared apart (46 pairs), identical twins reared together (67 pairs), fraternal twins reared apart (100 pairs), and fraternal twins reared together (89 pairs); average age was 65 years. Heritability of general cognitive ability in these twins was much higher (about 80%) than estimates typically found earlier in life (about 50%). Consistent with the literature, heritabilities of specific cognitive abilities were lower than the heritability of general cognitive ability but nonetheless substantial. Average heritabilities for verbal, spatial, perceptual speed, and memory tests were, respectively, 58%, 46%, 58%, and 38%.

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

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.

The Genetic and Environmental Relationship Between General and Specific Cognitive Abilities in Twins Age 80 and Older

1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen A. Petrill ◽  
Robert Plomin ◽  
Stig Berg ◽  
Boo Johansson ◽  
Nancy L. Pedersen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Speed Of Processing ◽  
Processing Abilities ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽  
Performance Results ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Specific Cognitive Abilities

In the first twin study of the old-old, individuals 80 years old and older, we examined the relationship between general and specific cognitive abilities from a genetic perspective. That is, we examined the extent to which genetic and environmental factors influence major group factors of cognitive abilities, independent of general cognitive ability. As part of the OctoTwin project in Sweden, general and specific cognitive abilities were assessed in 52 monozygotic and 65 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs 80 years old and older using a battery of seven tests that assess verbal, spatial, speed-of-processing, and memory performance. Results suggest that genetic effects associated with general cognitive ability (g) account for the correlation between g and verbal, spatial, and speed-of-processing abilities. No genetic influences were found for these specific cognitive abilities separate from g. In contrast, memory ability appears to be more distinct genetically from g than are other cognitive abilities. Comparison with younger samples suggests that cognitive abilities relating to speed of processing may be genetically dedifferentiated in the old-old.

scholarly journals Physical frailty and decline in general and specific cognitive abilities: the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catharine Gale ◽  
Stuart J Ritchie ◽  
John M Starr ◽  
Ian J Deary
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Visuospatial Ability ◽  
Physical Frailty ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Memory Processing ◽  
Lothian Birth Cohort

BackgroundPhysical frailty is associated with many adverse outcomes including disability, chronic disease, hospitalisation, institutionalisation and death. It is unclear what impact it might have on the rate of normal cognitive ageing. We investigated whether physical frailty was related to initial level of, and change in, cognitive abilities from age 70 to 79 years.MethodParticipants were 950 members of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. Physical frailty was assessed at age 70 years using the Fried criteria. Cognitive function was assessed at ages 70, 73, 76 and 79 years. We used linear regression to examine cross-sectional and prospective associations between physical frailty status at age 70 years and factor score estimates for baseline level of and change in four cognitive domains (visuospatial ability, memory, processing speed and crystallised ability) and in general cognitive ability.ResultsPhysical frailty, but not prefrailty, was associated with lower baseline levels of visuospatial ability, memory, processing speed and general cognitive ability after control for age, sex, education, depressive symptoms, smoking and number of chronic illnesses. Physical frailty was associated with greater decline in each cognitive domain: age-adjusted and sex-adjusted standardised regression coefficients (95% CIs) were: −0.45 (−0.70 to –0.20) for visuospatial ability, −0.32 (−0.56 to –0.07) for memory, −0.47 (−0.72 to −0.22) for processing speed, −0.43 (−0.68 to –0.18) for crystallised ability and −0.45 (−0.70 to –0.21) for general cognitive ability. These associations were only slightly attenuated after additional control for other covariates.ConclusionPhysical frailty may be an important indicator of age-related decline across multiple cognitive domains.

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

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.

scholarly journals Generalizing Longitudinal Age Effects on Brain Structure – A Two-Study Comparison Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane Jockwitz ◽  
Susan Mérillat ◽  
Franziskus Liem ◽  
Jessica Oschwald ◽  
Katrin Amunts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Aging Brain ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Sample Characteristics

Cross-sectional studies indicate that normal aging is accompanied by decreases in brain structure. Longitudinal studies, however, are relatively rare and inconsistent regarding their outcomes. Particularly the heterogeneity of methods, sample characteristics and the high inter-individual variability in older adults prevent the deduction of general trends. Therefore, the current study aimed to compare longitudinal age-related changes in brain structure (measured through cortical thickness) in two large independent samples of healthy older adults (n = 161 each); the Longitudinal Healthy Aging Brain (LHAB) database project at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and 1000BRAINS at the Research Center Juelich, Germany. Annual percentage changes in the two samples revealed stable to slight decreases in cortical thickness over time. After correction for major covariates, i.e., baseline age, sex, education, and image quality, sample differences were only marginally present. Results suggest that general trends across time might be generalizable over independent samples, assuming the same methodology is used, and similar sample characteristics are present.

scholarly journals Spurious correlations in research on the effects of specific cognitive abilities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimmo Sorjonen ◽  
Bo Melin
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Longitudinal Survey ◽  
The Other ◽  
General Cognitive Ability ◽  
Math Ability ◽  
Specific Cognitive Abilities

Studies on the effect of non-g ability residuals have often employed double adjustment for general cognitive ability (g), as they have calculated the ability residuals adjusting for g and then calculated the effect of the non-g residuals while adjusting for g. The present simulations demonstrate that the double adjustments may result in spurious negative associations between the non-g residual on one cognitive ability, e.g. verbal ability, and variables with a positive association with another ability, e.g. SAT math and math ability. In analyses of the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), the negative associations between non-g residuals on verbal and math ability and aptitude test scores on the other ability vanished when not double adjusting for g. This indicates that the observed negative associations may be spurious and not due to differential investment of time and effort in one ability at the expense of the other ability, as suggested in the literature. Researchers of the effects of specific abilities are recommended to validate their findings and interpretations with analyses not double adjusting for g.

scholarly journals Higher physical fitness levels are associated with less language decline in healthy ageing

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Segaert ◽  
S.J.E. Lucas ◽  
C.V. Burley ◽  
P. Segaert ◽  
A. E. Milner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Aerobic Fitness ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Healthy Ageing ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Word Finding ◽  
Cognitive Failures ◽  
Tip Of The Tongue ◽  
Fitness Levels

AbstractHealthy ageing is associated with decline in cognitive abilities such as language. Aerobic fitness has been shown to ameliorate decline in some cognitive domains, but the potential benefits for language have not been examined. In a cross-sectional sample, we investigated the relationship between aerobic fitness and tip-of-the-tongue states. These are among the most frequent cognitive failures in healthy older adults and occur when a speaker knows a word but is unable to produce it. We found that healthy older adults indeed experience more tip-of-the-tongue states than young adults. Importantly, higher aerobic fitness levels decrease the probability of experiencing tip-of-the-tongue states in healthy older adults. Fitness-related differences in word finding abilities are observed over and above effects of age. This is the first demonstration of a link between aerobic fitness and language functioning in healthy older adults.

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