[Cognitive reserve and linguistic skills in healthy elderly persons]

Rev Neurol. 2013 Aug 1;57(3):97-102.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

Introduction: One research strategy that can be used with the cognitive reserve is to establish groups of elderly persons who differ in key variables that affect the cognitive reserve and then compare their performance in cognitive tests.

Aims: To determine which of the variables that have an influence on the cognitive reserve (measured by means of the cognitive reserve questionnaire) are related with performance in the Boston Naming Test, and in the vocabulary and grammar comprehension tests from the ECCO_Senior battery.

Subjects and methods: The sample consisted of 83 elderly persons aged between 60 and 75 years.

Results and conclusions: Schooling, parents' schooling, job and reading habits are closely related to the performance of the elderly in naming, grammar comprehension and vocabulary. Schooling affects the comprehension of sentences with a higher propositional density, and reading habits seem to be closely related with the comprehension of sentences that are more complex in terms of their syntax. Schooling and job affect the performance obtained when dealing with verbs in the vocabulary test.

Title: Reserva cognitiva y habilidades linguisticas en mayores sanos.

Introduccion. Una estrategia de investigacion en relacion con la reserva cognitiva supone establecer grupos de mayores que difieren en variables clave que afectan a la reserva cognitiva y comparar su rendimiento en pruebas de caracter cognitivo. Objetivo. Determinar que variables de las que influyen en la reserva cognitiva (medidas mediante el cuestionario de reserva cognitiva) se relacionan con el rendimiento en el test de denominacion de Boston, y en las pruebas de vocabulario y comprension gramatical de la bateria ECCO_Senior. Sujetos y metodos. Participaron en el estudio 83 mayores de edades comprendidas entre los 60 y los 75 años. Resultados y conclusiones. La escolaridad, la escolaridad de los padres, la ocupacion laboral y la actividad lectora se relacionan estrechamente con el rendimiento de los mayores en denominacion, comprension gramatical y vocabulario. La escolaridad afecta a la comprension de las oraciones con mayor densidad proposicional, y los habitos de lectura parecen estar estrechamente relacionados con la comprension de oraciones de mayor complejidad sintactica. La escolaridad y la ocupacion laboral afectan al rendimiento obtenido ante los verbos en la prueba de vocabulario.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • English Abstract

MeSH terms

  • Activities of Daily Living
  • Aged / psychology*
  • Aging / psychology
  • Cognitive Reserve*
  • Educational Status
  • Female
  • Habits
  • Humans
  • Language Tests
  • Language*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged / psychology*
  • Multilingualism
  • Occupations
  • Parents
  • Play and Playthings
  • Psychological Tests
  • Reading
  • Reference Values
  • Surveys and Questionnaires