Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Department of Sociology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
Alzheimers Dement. 2022 May;18(5):934-941. doi: 10.1002/alz.12443. Epub 2021 Sep 5.
Research suggests social connectedness may help older adults with dementia maintain cognitive functionality and quality of life. However, little is known about its specific social and biological mechanisms. This paper proposes two pathways through social bridging (i.e., cognitive enrichment through expansive social networks) and bonding (i.e., neuroendocrine benefits of integration in cohesive social networks). We provide preliminary evidence for these pathways using neuroimaging, cognitive, and egocentric social network data from the Social Networks and Alzheimer's Disease (SNAD) study (N = 280). We found that network size, density, and presence of weak ties (i.e., social bridging) moderated the association between brain atrophy and cognitive function, while marriage/cohabitation (i.e., social bonding) moderated the association between perceived stress and cognitive function. We argue that social connectedness may have downstream implications for multiple pathophysiological processes in cognitive aging, even negating existing structural damage to the brain, making it a strong candidate for clinical or policy intervention.
研究表明，社交关联性可能有助于老年痴呆症患者保持认知功能和生活质量。然而，其具体的社会和生物学机制知之甚少。本文提出了两种途径，即通过社会桥接（即通过广泛的社交网络实现认知丰富）和联系（即凝聚社交网络中神经内分泌的益处）。我们使用来自社交网络与阿尔茨海默病研究（SNAD）的神经影像学、认知和自我中心社交网络数据（N=280）为这些途径提供了初步证据。我们发现，网络规模、密度和弱关系的存在（即社会桥接）调节了大脑萎缩与认知功能之间的关联，而婚姻/同居（即社会联系）调节了感知压力与认知功能之间的关联。我们认为，社交关联性可能对认知老化的多个病理生理过程产生下游影响，甚至可以抵消大脑现有的结构损伤，使其成为临床或政策干预的有力候选者。
