Cognitive Reserve and Psychological Well-Being in Aging Population of Community-Dwellers in Spain

Greater brain resilience-the capacity of the brain to maintain normal functioning and cognition with aging-is associated with a slower cognitive decline. Cognitive reserve (CR) is one component of brain resilience and may be supported by educational, occupational, and leisure experiences.

This exploratory, cross-sectional study examined associations among psychological well-being, engagement in leisure activities associated with cognitive reserve, and cognitive performance in older community dwellers (older adults living independently) in Spain. General brain resilience was tapped on by measuring performance in memory and attention cognitive tasks.

We used the depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS-21), life satisfaction scale (SWLS), loneliness scale (UCLA), and cognitive reserve scale (CRS) as proxy measures for psychological well-being and cognitive reserve in 80 people (33 men) between 65 and 101 years of age. The CRS was used as a proxy measure of the leisure-activity contribution to cognitive reserve rather than as a comprehensive or direct measure of cognitive reserve. To probe cognitive performance, we administered a memory-span task and spatial-cueing tasks measuring endogenous and exogenous attention.

Among males, higher CRS scores were associated with lower perceived stress and greater reported loneliness, whereas comparable associations were not observed among females. Higher CRS scores were also associated with selected measures of attention. No significant association was observed between CRS scores and memory span. Given the exploratory design and sample size, sex-specific findings should be interpreted cautiously.

We discuss these findings and outline a research agenda for more hypotheses-driven studies to investigate the intricate relationships among different aspects of brain resilience, psychological well-being and cognitive performance in older individuals. Better understanding of intricate associations between cognitive performance and psychological factors (feeling of loneliness, subjective stress and anxiety, and life satisfaction) may contribute to our understanding of how lifestyle and cognitive reserve are related.