Cognitive Reserve

By Rokhsareh Shoaee, PhD, LPC

Genoa Healthcare LLC

Cognitive Reserve

We all have seen people who face big challenges of life and are able to move on without being defeated.  These individuals seem to have some kind of super power to face life’s provocations.

Well, there may be other dynamics that give them the ability to move on and do not let cognitive decline stop their normal living activities. For example, family members and friends of the late Ms. Esther Baxter, age 102 were amazed at her ability to function well, have a circle of friends and until last year, host nearly 60 people for Thanksgiving at her house in Girard, Pennsylvania.

According to her family, Ms. Baxter never complained about any symptoms of brain diseases that may develop in the elderly population. In addition to her healthy life, according to her granddaughter, Karen, “My grandma was always involved in helping to resolve the challenging issues of our big family, even when she had passed age 100.” The question is what other resources are available to certain individuals that can even fight the most deadly diseases.  One may be “cognitive reserve.”

What Is Cognitive Reserve?

A Harvard Medical School article defines “cognitive reserve” as, “An important concept that is crucial to the understanding of cognitive health…” In the 1980s, researchers described “individuals with no apparent symptoms of dementia that were nonetheless found at autopsy to have brain changes consistent with advanced Alzheimer’s disease.” Surprisingly, these individuals did not show symptoms of dementia during their life journey.

Researchers contend that these individuals “had a large enough cognitive reserve to offset the damage to their brain and continue to function as usual.” According to these studies, “People with greater cognitive reserve are better able to stave off degenerative brain changes associated with dementia or other brain diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, or a stroke.”

Researchers report that when people face unexpected and painful life events, a strong cognitive reserve can facilitate their functions longer in order to face such life challenges. Once people lose the ability of their brain to cope with distressing conditions, experts note, “They can become confused, develop delirium, or show signs of disease.”

How To Strengthen Your Cognitive Reserve?

Experts recommend:  Review your life over the years and make a list of what you have done.  How much education or work has challenged your brain over the years?