Staff Roger T, Murray Alison D, Deary Ian J, Whalley Lawrence J
Department of Bio-Medical Physics and Bioengineering, University of Aberdeen and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Foresterhill, UK.
Brain. 2004 May;127(Pt 5):1191-9. doi: 10.1093/brain/awh144. Epub 2004 Mar 26.
The cerebral reserve hypothesis is a heuristic concept used to explain apparent protection from the onset of cerebral disease and/or cognitive decline in old age. A significant obstacle when investigating the reserve hypothesis is the absence of baseline data with which to compare current cognitive status. We tested the influence of three hypothesized proxies of reserve (education, head size and occupational attainment [OCC]) in 92 volunteers born in 1921, whose cognitive function was measured at age 11 and 79 years, and who underwent brain MRI. The association between each proxy and old age cognitive function was tested, adjusting for variance contributed by childhood mental ability and detrimental age-related pathological changes measured using MRI. The results showed that education and OCC, but not total intracranial volume (TICV), contribute to cerebral reserve and help retain cognitive function in old age. Education was found to contribute between 5 and 6% of the variance found in old age memory function but was found to have no significant association with reasoning abilities. OCC was found to contribute around 5% of the variance found in old age memory function and between 6 and 8% of the variance found in old age reasoning abilities. We conclude that the intellectual challenges experienced during life, such as education and occupation, accumulate reserve and allow cognitive function to be maintained in old age.
脑储备假说 是一个启发式概念，用于解释在老年时明显预防脑部疾病发作和/或认知衰退的现象。研究储备假说时的一个重大障碍是缺乏用于比较当前认知状态的基线数据。我们测试了三个假定的储备指标（教育程度、头围和职业成就[OCC]）对92名出生于1921年的志愿者的影响，这些志愿者在11岁和79岁时接受了认知功能测试，并进行了脑部MRI检查。我们测试了每个指标与老年认知功能之间的关联，并对童年心理能力和使用MRI测量的与年龄相关的有害病理变化所导致的方差进行了调整。结果表明，教育程度和职业成就对脑储备有贡献，并有助于在老年时保持认知功能，但颅内总体积（TICV）并非如此。研究发现，教育程度对老年记忆功能方差的贡献为5%至6%，但与推理能力没有显著关联。职业成就对老年记忆功能方差的贡献约为5%，对老年推理能力方差的贡献为6%至8%。我们得出结论，一生中经历的智力挑战，如教育和职业，会积累储备，并使认知功能在老年时得以维持。
