Background

A common belief among people and some researchers is that keeping yourself mentally active may decrease the risk of dementia. Over the past years, despite widespread efforts to identify proxies for protecting cognitive reserve against age-related changes, it is still not clear what type of intellectual activity would be beneficial for cognitive reserve. To fill this gap, we propose a three-dimensional model of intellectual activity. According to this conceptual model, intellectual activities could be distinguished based on their locations in a three-dimensions space, including; (1) Activation: active vs. passive, (2) Novelty: novel vs. familiar, and (3) Productivity: productive vs. receptive. We assumed that the activities that are categorized as more active, novel, and productive could be considered as a cognitive reserve proxy.

Methods

To test this hypothesis, a sample of 237 participants older than 50 years (M_age = 58.76 ± 6.66; 63.7% women) was recruited to take part in the study. Episodic, semantic and working memory were assessed with computerized battery tests (Sepidar) and a self-report questionnaire was used to assess intellectual activities. Activities were categorized in terms of; (1) passive, familiar, and receptive activities (radio/watching TV), (2) active, familiar, and receptive activities (solving crosswords), (3) active, novel, and receptive activities (reading), and (4) active, novel, and productive activities (writing).

Results

The results indicated that writing moderates the effect of age on episodic and semantic memory. Reading only moderates the effect of age on semantic memory, and radio/watching TV and solving crosswords do not play a role in moderation analysis.

Conclusions

Our finding suggests that intellectual activities have different moderating effects on the relationships between age and memory performance. Individuals with high levels of participation in novel and productive activities over the life course are less likely to clinically demonstrate cognitive impairments. Our results support the potential benefit of the three-dimensional model to provide a better insight into the complex role of intellectual activities in cognitive reserve, particularly for older adults. Further research is needed to evaluate the efficacy and the benefits of the model.

中文翻译：

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哪些智力活动与认知储备有关？三维模型的介绍和测试

背景

人们和一些研究人员普遍认为，保持精神活跃可能会降低患痴呆症的风险。在过去的几年里，尽管人们广泛努力寻找保护认知储备免受年龄相关变化影响的替代方法，但仍不清楚哪种类型的智力活动对认知储备有益。为了填补这一空白，我们提出了智力活动的三维模型。根据这个概念模型，智力活动可以根据它们在三维空间中的位置来区分，包括： (1) 激活：主动与被动，(2) 新颖性：新颖与熟悉，(3) 生产力：生产性与接受性。我们假设被归类为更活跃、新颖和富有成效的活动可以被视为认知储备代理。

方法

为了检验这一假设，招募了 237 名年龄超过 50 岁的参与者（M_年龄 = 58.76 ± 6.66；63.7% 女性）作为样本参与这项研究。通过计算机电池测试（Sepidar）评估情景记忆、语义记忆和工作记忆，并使用自我报告问卷来评估智力活动。活动分为以下几类： (1) 被动、熟悉和接受性活动（广播/看电视），(2) 主动、熟悉和接受性活动（解决填字游戏），(3) 主动、新颖和接受性活动（阅读），以及 (4)积极、新颖、富有成效的活动（写作）。

结果

结果表明，写作调节了年龄对情景记忆和语义记忆的影响。阅读仅调节年龄对语义记忆的影响，而广播/看电视和解决填字游戏在调节分析中不起作用。

结论

我们的研究结果表明，智力活动对年龄和记忆表现之间的关系有不同的调节作用。在生命过程中高度参与新颖和富有成效的活动的个体在临床上表现出认知障碍的可能性较小。我们的结果支持三维模型的潜在好处，可以更好地洞察智力活动在认知储备中的复杂作用，特别是对于老年人来说。需要进一步的研究来评估该模型的功效和益处。