Testing for limits of cognitive reserve capacity: a promising strategy for early diagnosis of dementia?
Examination of the range and limits of cognitive reserve capacity (plasticity) by means of cognitive training is proffered as a promising diagnostic strategy for the early (premorbid) identification of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease, in nonclinical populations. First data are presented from a sample of elderly independent-living people classified as healthy or at risk (beginning dementia) on the basis of a standardized psychiatric interview. Randomly assigned groups participated in a cognitive training program based on figural relations, a component of fluid intelligence. Stepwise regression analyses demonstrated that only healthy elderly profited from training and that only post-training scores predicted the psychiatric "at risk" diagnosis. The results hold promise for further development of testing-the-limits of individual differences in cognitive reserve capacity to identify premorbid states of dementia in nonclinical samples.
Baltes
M M
MM
Free University Berlin.
Kühl
K P
KP
Sowarka
D
D
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003071:Cognition; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012307:Risk Factors