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Updated: Nov 27, 2025

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
Published on: September 20, 2020
Cognitive reserve relates to executive functioning in the old-old
Joukje M Oosterman1,2, Michelle G Jansen3, Erik J A Scherder4
1Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. j.oosterman@donders.ru.nl.
Abstract:
Cognitive reserve (CR) is known to reduce or even protect against the negative effects of aging on cognitive functioning. Nonetheless, little is known about how CR influences the relationship between different cognitive abilities and age in the old-old. The goal of the present study was, therefore, to test the hypothesis whether, in the old-old, CR still modifies the relationship between age and cognitive functioning. Eighty-three adults (aged 71-94) without mild cognitive impairment or dementia residing in residential care facilities completed a detailed neuropsychological test battery. CR was estimated using a combination of educational attainment and an estimation of verbal intelligence. Moderation analyses revealed a significant effect for fluency and a trend for flexibility, showing that the negative relationship between age and cognitive performance is reduced as the level of CR increases. These results demonstrate that CR still influences the relationship between age and executive functions in adults of advanced age.
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