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The Influence of Cognitive Reserve on Strategy Selection in Normal Aging

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2013

Daniel J. Barulli ,
Brian C. Rakitin ,
Patrick Lemaire  and
Yaakov Stern
Daniel J. Barulli
Affiliation:
Cognitive Neuroscience Division of the Department of Neurology, and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York
Brian C. Rakitin
Affiliation:
Cognitive Neuroscience Division of the Department of Neurology, and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York
Patrick Lemaire
Affiliation:
Université de Provence, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and Institut Universitaire de France, Marseille, France
Yaakov Stern*
Affiliation:
Cognitive Neuroscience Division of the Department of Neurology, and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Yaakov Stern, Taub Institute, Columbia University, 630 West 168th St, P&S Box 16, PH Building 18-322, New York, NY 10032. E-mail: ys11@columbia.edu
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Abstract

Cognitive reserve (CR) has been proposed as a latent variable that can account for the frequent discrepancy between an individual's underlying level of brain pathology and their observed clinical outcome. A possible behavioral manifestation of CR is best strategy choice. Older adults have been shown to choose sub-optimal strategies for performing various tasks. The present study attempted to investigate whether greater levels of CR could predict greater strategy selection, particularly in older adults. A computational estimation task was administered to 20 healthy young adults (mean age = 24.7 ± 3.6; 20–31 years) and 18 healthy older adults (68.2 ± 4.5; 62–77 years) wherein participants needed to estimate the product of two two-digit numbers by using one of two strategies. The results revealed an effect of age group on strategy choice and supported the hypothesis that CR is associated with increased strategy selection abilities. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–4)

Keywords

AgingCognitive reserveCompensationStrategy selectionStrategy adaptivityComputational estimation
Type
Brief Communication
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 19 , Issue 7 , August 2013 , pp. 841 - 844
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2013 

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