cognitive reserve

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the brain's resilience to neuropathological damage, reflected in the observation that individuals with higher levels of education, intellectually stimulating occupations, and rich social engagement can sustain greater amounts of brain pathology — as in Alzheimer's disease — before showing clinical symptoms of cognitive impairment; cognitive reserve is hypothesised to reflect both structural neural factors — greater synaptic density and connectivity — and functional factors — more efficient or flexible use of neural networks; individuals with high cognitive reserve show later onset of dementia symptoms despite equivalent underlying pathology, though once impairment appears it may progress more rapidly; building cognitive reserve through lifelong learning, social engagement, and mentally challenging activities is a key public health recommendation for dementia prevention, though it cannot eliminate the effects of severe neurodegeneration