70 The concept of “cognitive reserve” Contrary to assumptions that changes in brain networks are possible only during crucial periods of development, MG-132 research buy recent research has supported the idea of a permanent plastic brain. Novel experience, altered afferent input due to environmental changes,

and learning new skills are now recognized as modulators of brain function and underlying neuroanatomic circuitry. Results in animal experiments and discovery of increases in gray and white matter in the adult human brain as a result of learning and exercise have reinforced the old concept of “cognitive reserve,” that is, the ability to reinforce brain volume Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical in certain areas and thus provide a greater threshold for age-dependent Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical deficits, or the capacity of the brain to manage pathology or age-related changes, thereby minimizing clinical manifestation.90-94 The concept of “cognitive reserve” and a broader theory of “brain reserve” was originally proposed to help explain epidemiological data indicating that individuals who engaged higher levels of mental Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and physical activity via education, occupation, and recreation were associated with slower cognitive decline in healthy aging and are at lower risk of developing AD and other forms of dementia.95-98

The aging process that results in loss of synapses and possible neurons may be far more detrimental for those with little brain reserve as compared with those with a high one.99 The construct of “cognitive reserve” is Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical a set of variables including intelligence, education, and mental stimulation which putatively allows the brain to adapt to underlying pathologies by maintaining cognitive function despite underlying neuronal changes. It also indicates a resilience to neuropathological damage, and could be defined as the ability to optimize or maximize performance through effective recruitment of brain networks and/or alternative cognitive strategies. Childhood cognition, educational attainment, and adult Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical occupation all contribute to cognitive reserve independently.

Enriched environment and physical activity influence the rate of neurogenesis in adult animal model hippocampi.100 Rolziracetam In people with high reserve, deterioration occurs rapidly once the threshold is reached.101 Structural and functional brain imaging studies have revealed selective changes in aging brain that reflect neural decline as well as compensatory neural recruitment, representing possible neural substrates of cognitive reserve, but its neural basis is still a topic of ongoing research.102 While aging is associated with reductions in cortical thickness, white matter integrity, transmitter activity, and functional engagement in the hippocampus and occipital areas, there are compensatory increases in frontal functional engagement that correlate with better behavioral performance in the elderly.