Friday 9th of May 9.45 – 11.15
Aula Scarpa
Chair of the session – Alessia Rosi
Abstracts
Generational differences in cognitive terminal decline: A comparison of two populations-based cohorts born 29-years apart.
by Valgeir Thorvaldsson
Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
The terminal decline (TD) hypothesis (Kleemeier, 1962) has received substantial support over the last two decades. Longitudinal studies demonstrate average onset of acceleration in cognitive decline 5 to 10 years prior to death and a significant increase in rate of decline after onset. In this study, we evaluated birth cohort differences in TD. We obtained data from two cohorts (H70), born in 1901-1902 (n=755) and 1930 (n=347), identified at age 70 from the same population and assessed on the same cognitive tests at ages 70, 75, 79,85, and 88. The 1901-02 cohort was further assessed at ages 90, 92,95,97, 99, and 100. Outcome was defined by composite of three tests (spatial ability, speed, reasoning), and dates of death were derived from population register. We fitted random change point model to the data. Findings revealed TD onset estimated at 5.17 years prior to death (95% HDI [5.68, 8.05]) in the 1901-02 cohort, with acceleration in rate of decline within the TD phase by a factor of 4.43. TD onset was delayed by 2.53 years [0.10, 5.68] in the 1930 cohort, with acceleration factor of 5.16 within the TD phase. Today’s birth cohort experiences a shorter TD phase compared to earlier cohorts.
The interplay of metacognition and cognitive reserve: Pathways to preserving cognitive function.
by Chiara Scarampi1 | Sam Gilbert2 | Andreas Ihle1 | Matthias Kliegel1 |
1 University of Geneva
2 University College London
Cognitive reserve explains variations in individual resilience to age-related cognitive decline and neuropathology. Yet, the mechanisms through which cognitive reserve supports cognitive health remain largely unexplored. This pre-registered study investigated metacognition—the capacity to evaluate and regulate one’s cognitive processes—as a possible pathway through which cognitive reserve exerts its protective effects in aging. A diverse, age-stratified sample of 300 adults completed a delayed-intention task. On certain trials, participants could set reminders to complete specific delayed actions, enabling us to assess how effectively they balanced reliance on internal memory with the use of external aids. Prior to the task, participants also provided metacognitive judgments. Cognitive reserve was quantified through a composite measure encompassing educational attainment, occupational demands, and levels of leisure activity. The results shed light on the mediating role of metacognition—particularly the ability to implement effective strategies—in linking cognitive reserve to cognitive health. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings will be discussed.
“Open your mind” towards a healthy cognitive ageing: gauging the links between Openness, different life-stage dependent cognitive reserve proxies and cognition in adulthood and older age.
by Elena Carbone1 | Stephen Aichele2 | Paolo Ghisletta3 | Erika Borella1
1 Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy
2 College of Health and Human Sciences, Colorado State University, USA
3 Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland
The present study aimed at examining the associations between the Big Five Personality traits, different life-stage dependent socio-behavioral proxy measures of cognitive reserve (CR) and cognition in adulthood and older age. A sample of 156 community-dwelling adults (age range: 55-90) completed the Current and Retrospective Cognitive Reserve (2CR) survey, assessing CR proxy measures spanning socio-economic status, family engagement and engagement in leisure, social and religious/spiritual activity both currently (CRc; in later adulthood) and retrospectively (CRr; as recalled from younger adulthood), a Big Five questionnaire and measures of working memory, fluid ability and vocabulary. Structural regression analyses showed that Openness was the only personality trait positively associated with both global CRc and CRr, their leisure activity and social engagement dimensional factors as well as the retrospective socio-economic status dimension (i.e., educational attainment). A parallel mediation analysis showed an indirect effect of Openness on cognitive ability, mediated by CRr but not CRc. These results further highlight how certain personality traits, and more consistently Openness, drive individuals to engage cognitively stimulating and active lifestyles across different life stages which, in turn, benefit cognitive performance, with implications towards the promotion, also from preventive purposes, of cognitive and brain health in adulthood and older age.
The role of individual and environmental socio-economic resources for cognitive change in very old age.
by Gizem Hülür1 | Jaroslava Zimmermann2
1 University of Bonn
2 University of Cologne
This goal of this study was to examine the role of individual and environmental socio- economic resources for cognitive aging in adults aged 80+, a rapidly growing demographic segment. We used data from 797 participants of the NRW80+ in 2017-2018 and 2019-2021, a survey of a population-based sample of very old individuals in North-Rhine Westphalia, the most populous federal state in Germany. Individual socio-economic resources included education, income, wealth, and occupational prestige, while environmental socio-economic resources were assessed at the municipality level and included indicators like population density, healthcare availability, and transportation access. Results showed that higher education and wealth were independently related to better baseline cognitive function. Individual socio-economic resources were unrelated to cognitive change over time. Environmental factors including greater population density, broadband availability, but also higher unemployment rates were related to better baseline cognitive function. Greater distance to highways, but also limited healthcare resources were associated with less decline. Our findings suggest that individual socio-economic resources continue to be relevant to cognitive function in very old age but are unrelated to short-term cognitive decline. There is also some evidence for associations of baseline cognitive function and cognitive change with environmental factors over and above individual socio-economic resources.