Abstract
AbstractBackgroundIn the ageing process, different cognitive functions decline at different time points and at different rates. Additionally, the inter‐individual variability in cognitive decline could partially depend on cognitive reserve, which represents a resilience factor against age‐related cognitive decline. These complex relationships can be captured with advanced multivariate methods such as graph theory, that can be applied to investigate cognitive networks. The present study aimed to examine the association between cognitive reserve and cognitive networks across age.MethodA total of 334 cognitively healthy participants were stratified into early‐middle‐age (37‐50 years; n = 110), late‐middle‐age (51‐64 years; n = 106), and elderly (65‐78 years; n = 118) groups. Within each age group, individuals were further subdivided into two cognitive reserve levels (high, low) based on a crystallized intelligence proxy. For each subgroup, cognitive networks were constructed based on correlations between 47 z‐scored cognitive variables. Applying graph theory, different global and nodal network measures were compared between subgroups.ResultsGraph‐theoretical analyses revealed that individuals with high cognitive reserve were characterized by a stable cognitive network across age groups. The only consistent difference between the high cognitive reserve groups emerged in modularity with the late‐middle‐age group showing decreased modularity compared to early‐middle‐age and elderly groups. In contrast, individuals with low cognitive reserve showed a marked reconfiguration of cognitive networks across age groups with a pronounced dedifferentiation in late‐middle‐age. This was reflected as a decrease in global efficiency and increase in mean network strength and small‐worldness in the late‐middle‐age group compared to the early‐middle‐age group. The elderly group had a higher global efficiency and lower mean network strength and small‐worldness compared to the late‐middle‐age group.ConclusionA high cognitive reserve was associated with the resilience of the cognitive connectome during the ageing process, while individuals with low cognitive reserve showed prominent changes in their cognitive connectome with increasing age. Gaining further insights into these mechanisms will contribute to our understanding of age‐related cognitive decline and guide the development of strategies to preserve cognitive function in ageing.
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