More frequent cognitive activity in late life is associated with higher brain microstructural integrity in non-demented older adults

Target Audience: Researchers in brain MRI of aging. Purpose: Previous research suggests that more frequent cognitive activity in late life is associated with lower rate of cognitive decline, reduced risk of cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia [1,2]. The underlying mechanism is thought to be that more frequent cognitive activity builds “cognitive reserve”, which reduces susceptibility to brain changes and pathology [3]. Cognitive reserve has been defined as a set of structural or functional brain characteristics that protect against neuropathologic damage. The purpose of this study was twofold: a) test the hypothesis that more frequent cognitive activity in late life is associated with higher microstructural integrity in brain white matter, and b) test the hypothesis that microstructural integrity in brain white matter mediates the relation between late life cognitive activity and cognition.