title: Influence of education on the benton visual retention test performance as mediated by a strategic search component.
abstract: Age-related cognitive decline has been reported by several studies. However, little investigations have dealt with the effect of education on this decline. In the present study, we examined the influence of educational level on visual working memory, evaluated by the Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT in recognition format) in 829 elderly participants of the PAQUID study. A multivariate linear model suggested that the effect of education on BVRT performance was not mediated by visual discrimination abilities suggesting that it was mainly supported by better executive abilities. Moreover, the analysis of success and error location suggested that subjects with higher educational level use a more exhaustive exploration strategy during the recognition phase than subjects with lower educational level, which permit them to better perform. The ability of high educational level subjects to use more efficient strategies may participate to the 'cognitive reserve' capacity.
authors: INSERM U.330, Université Victor Ségalen, Bordeaux, France.
authors: Nicolas
authors: N
authors: Le Carret
authors: Constant
authors: C
authors: Rainville
authors: Nathalie
authors: N
authors: Lechevallier
authors: Sylviane
authors: S
authors: Lafont
authors: Luc
authors: L
authors: Letenneur
authors: Colette
authors: C
authors: Fabrigoule
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D014796:Visual Perception