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Cognitive Reserve: A Life-Course Perspective

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Neurobiological and Psychological Aspects of Brain Recovery

Part of the book series: Contemporary Clinical Neuroscience ((CCNE))

Abstract

The concept of reserve has been developed to account for the discontinuity between the extent of brain damage at its clinical manifestation in the form of cognitive decline or dementia. In this chapter, we discuss contributors to cognitive reserve from various stages of the life-course, including childhood, early adulthood, middle age, and late life. Evidence from observational, as well as intervention trials is presented and assessed. We conclude by arguing that reserve formation in dementia risk is a life-course process whereby baseline cognitive abilities are subjected to modulation by subsequent experiences at diverse stages over the entire life-course. Variations among individuals in their ability to withstand age-related brain changes is ultimately dependent on their life-time accumulation of mental, physical, and lifestyle inputs into cognitive reserve.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Section of Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden

    Serhiy Dekhtyar

  2. Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS), Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Gävlegatan 16, 113 30, Stockholm, Sweden

    Hui-Xin Wang

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  1. Serhiy Dekhtyar
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  2. Hui-Xin Wang
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Correspondence to Hui-Xin Wang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Laura Petrosini

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Dekhtyar, S., Wang, HX. (2017). Cognitive Reserve: A Life-Course Perspective. In: Petrosini, L. (eds) Neurobiological and Psychological Aspects of Brain Recovery. Contemporary Clinical Neuroscience. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52067-4_5

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