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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Assessment of Age-related Changes in Cognitive Functions Using EmoCogMeter, a Novel Tablet-computer Based Approach
Published on: February 14, 2014
Relation of education to brain size in normal aging: implications for the reserve hypothesis
C E Coffey1, J A Saxton, G Ratcliff
1Department of Psychiatry, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. ecoffey1@hfhs.org
Objective:
To examine the relations between education and age-related changes in brain structure in a nonclinical sample of elderly adults.
Background:
Education may protect against cognitive decline in late life--an observation that has led to the "reserve" hypothesis of brain aging. Little is known, however, about the effect of education on age-related changes in brain structure.
Methods:
Quantitative MRI of the brain was performed in 320 elderly volunteers (age range, 66 to 90 years) living independently in the community (Mini-Mental State Examination scores > or =24), all of whom were participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study. Blinded measurements of global and regional brain size were made from T1-weighted axial images using computer-assisted edge detection and trace methodology. High measurement reliabilities were obtained.
Results:
Regression analyses (adjusting for the effects of intracranial size, sex, age, age-by-sex interactions, and potential confounders) revealed significant main effects of education on peripheral (sulcal) CSF volume-a marker of cortical atrophy. Each year of education was associated with an increase in peripheral CSF volume of 1.77 mL (p<0.03). As reported previously, main effects of age (but not education) were observed for all of the remaining brain regions examined, including cerebral hemisphere volume, frontal region area, temporoparietal region area, parieto-occipital region area, lateral (Sylvian) fissure volume, lateral ventricular volume, and third ventricle volume.
Conclusions:
The authors' findings demonstrate a relation between education and age-related cortical atrophy in a nonclinical sample of elderly persons, and are consistent with the reserve hypothesis as well as with a small number of brain imaging studies in patients with dementia. The neurobiological basis and functional correlates of this education effect require additional investigation.
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