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Symmetric Bihemispheric Postmortem Brain Cutting to Study Healthy and Pathological Brain Conditions in Humans

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Published on: December 18, 2016

Life-span cognitive activity, neuropathologic burden, and cognitive aging.

Robert S Wilson¹, Patricia A Boyle, Lei Yu

¹Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center and Departments of Neurological Sciences, Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA. rwilson@rush.edu

|July 5, 2013

Summary

Engaging in mentally stimulating activities throughout life is linked to slower cognitive decline in older age. This association is independent of common brain pathologies, supporting the cognitive reserve hypothesis.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Gerontology

Background:

Cognitive decline in late life is a significant concern.
Neuropathologic disorders are common causes of cognitive impairment.
The role of lifelong cognitive activity in mitigating cognitive decline independent of pathology is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the association between cognitive activity across the lifespan and late-life cognitive decline.
To determine if this association persists independently of common neuropathologic conditions.

Main Methods:

A longitudinal clinical-pathologic cohort study was conducted.
Participants reported on early-life and late-life cognitive activity.
Cognitive function was assessed annually, and neuropathologic examination was performed post-mortem, assessing infarcts, Lewy bodies, amyloid burden, and tau tangles.

Main Results:

Increased cognitive activity in both early and late life was associated with slower cognitive decline.
These cognitive activity measures explained 14% of the variability in cognitive decline not attributable to neuropathology.
The association for early-life activity was driven by childhood and middle-age engagement, not young adulthood.

Conclusions:

Lifelong cognitive activity is associated with slower cognitive decline in older age.
This protective effect is independent of common neuropathologic disorders such as infarcts, Lewy bodies, amyloid plaques, and tau tangles.
Findings support the cognitive reserve hypothesis, suggesting that cognitive engagement builds resilience against age-related cognitive impairment.