Brain+Structure+and+Function+Related+to+Cognitive+Reserve+Variables+in+Normal+Aging,+Mild+Cognitive+Impairment+and+Alzheimer's+Disease

Sole-Padulles, Cristina, Faz-Bartres, David, Junque, Carme, Vendrell, Pere, Rami, Lorena, Clemente, Imma, Bosch, Beatriu, Villar, Amparo, Bargallo, Nuria, Jurado, M, Barrios, Maite, Molinuevo, Jose. “Brain structure and function related to cognitive reserve variables in normal aging, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease” //Neurobiology of Aging// 30.7 (2009): 1114-1124. Web. 14 Jun. 2016.

Through testing of healthy and Alzheimer’s diagnosed participants’ brains to compare cognitive reserve with testing of memory abilities and other related tasks, this study is able to report a few things about the brain regarding rates of deterioration. The healthy patients with high cognitive reserve have higher grey/white matter volumes and generally larger brains, but the participants with Alzheimer’s disease have high levels of cognitive reserve as well but an over activation of many areas of the brain. This over activation is compensation for what they’re brains cannot do what healthy people are able to do. This higher function of cognitive reserve was found in the right superior temporal gyrus and the left superior parietal lobe.

This information about the different regions with the over activation for compensation aligns with other studies that have found which lobes of the brains tend to degrade faster (frontal and parietal from Resnick et al. 2003). This study also suggests that each brain breaks down in function in very similar ways, but with neurodegenerative diseases, the rate is much faster which is where the overcompensation comes into play. Other non-related sections of the brain are brought into play because the one area designated to a certain function can no longer perform correctly or efficiently enough, so it needs some help.