Cognitive Reserve in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment: The Importance of Occupational Complexity as a Buffer of Declining Cognition in Older Adults

CAROLINA FELDBERG; HERMIDA, PAULA; MARÍA FLORENCIA, TARTAGLINI; DORINA STEFANI; MARÍA VERÓNICA SOMALE; ALLEGRI, RICARDO

AIMS Medical Science

AIMS Press

Lugar: Springfield, MO,; Año: 2016

Cognitive reserve is the ability to optimize performance through differential recruitment ofbrain networks, which may reflect the use of alternative cognitive strategies. Work is one of the mostimportant sources of cognitive stimulation during adulthood. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI)represents an intermediate status between normal aging and dementia. As a consequence, this isconsidered a risk group regarding cognition. In order to study the probable association betweenoccupational complexity and cognitive performance in a group of patients with MCI, anon-probabilistic intentional sample was dispensed on a group of 80 patients. Occupationalcomplexity was explored by the Questionnaire on Agency of Labor Activity (CAAL, according to itsacronym in Spanish) and a set of neuropsychological tests, which assessed cognitive performance indifferent areas: memory, attention, language and executive function, were administered. Resultsreveal that occupational complexity is associated to cognitive performance of elderly adults withMCI. With respect to working with Data, an increase in neuropsychological tests that demand highlevels of attention and imply processing speed and working memory can be noted. Regarding the 78AIMS Medical Science Volume 3, Issue 1, 77-95.complexity of working with People, an association between the level of occupational complexity andan increase in verbal abilities and verbal reasoning can be seen. On the other hand, working withThings could be associated with better performance in specific areas of cognition such asvisuospatial abilities. These results add up as empirical evidence to the fields of cognitive neurologyand gerontology and to the cognitive reserve hypothesis, showing how complex environments canenhance cognition in old age. It adds evidence that help to understand which psychological, socialand labor factors intervene in the cognitive reserve of an elder adult in cognitive risk