TY - JOUR
T1 - Cognitive reserve modulates ERPs associated with verbal working memory in healthy younger and older adults
AU - Speer, Megan E.
AU - Soldan, Anja
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by start-up funds and the UMass Dartmouth Chancellor's Research Grant and the UMass Joseph Healey Endowment Grant awarded to Anja Soldan by the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. The authors thank Kristina Monteiro and Adam Young for research assistance.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2015/3/1
Y1 - 2015/3/1
N2 - Although many epidemiological studies suggest the beneficial effects of higher cognitive reserve (CR) in reducing age-related cognitive decline and dementia risk, the neural basis of CR is poorly understood. To our knowledge, the present study represents the first electrophysiological investigation of the relationship between CR and neural reserve (i.e., neural efficiency and capacity). Specifically, we examined whether CR modulates event-related potentials associated with performance on a verbal recognition memory task with 3 set sizes (1, 4, or 7 letters) in healthy younger and older adults. Neural data showed that as task difficulty increased, the amplitude of the parietal P3b component during the probe phase decreased and its latency increased. Notably, the degree of these neural changes was negatively correlated with CR in both age groups, such that individuals with higher CR showed smaller changes in P3b amplitude and less slowing in P3b latency (i.e., smaller changes in the speed of neural processing) with increasing task difficulty, suggesting greater neural efficiency. These CR-related differences in neural efficiency may underlie reserve against neuropathology and age-related burden.
AB - Although many epidemiological studies suggest the beneficial effects of higher cognitive reserve (CR) in reducing age-related cognitive decline and dementia risk, the neural basis of CR is poorly understood. To our knowledge, the present study represents the first electrophysiological investigation of the relationship between CR and neural reserve (i.e., neural efficiency and capacity). Specifically, we examined whether CR modulates event-related potentials associated with performance on a verbal recognition memory task with 3 set sizes (1, 4, or 7 letters) in healthy younger and older adults. Neural data showed that as task difficulty increased, the amplitude of the parietal P3b component during the probe phase decreased and its latency increased. Notably, the degree of these neural changes was negatively correlated with CR in both age groups, such that individuals with higher CR showed smaller changes in P3b amplitude and less slowing in P3b latency (i.e., smaller changes in the speed of neural processing) with increasing task difficulty, suggesting greater neural efficiency. These CR-related differences in neural efficiency may underlie reserve against neuropathology and age-related burden.
KW - Cognitive aging
KW - Cognitive reserve
KW - Event-related potentials (ERPs)
KW - Neural efficiency
KW - P3
KW - Verbal working memory
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U2 - 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.12.025
DO - 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.12.025
M3 - Article
C2 - 25619663
AN - SCOPUS:84923551062
SN - 0197-4580
VL - 36
SP - 1424
EP - 1434
JO - Neurobiology of aging
JF - Neurobiology of aging
IS - 3
ER -