Which intellectual activities are related to cognitive reserve? Introduction and testing a three-dimensional model

A common belief among people and some researchers is that keeping yourself mentally active may decrease the risk of dementia. Over the past years, despite widespread efforts to identify proxies for protecting cognitive reserve against age-related changes, it is still not clear what type of intellectual activity would be beneficial for cognitive reserve. To fill this gap, we propose a three-dimensional model of intellectual activity. According to this conceptual model, intellectual activities could be distinguished based on their locations in a three-dimensions space, including; (1) Activation: active vs. passive, (2) Novelty: novel vs. familiar, and (3) Productivity: productive vs. receptive. We assumed that the activities that are categorized as more active, novel, and productive could be considered as a cognitive reserve proxy.

To test this hypothesis, a sample of 237 participants older than 50 years (M_age = 58.76 ± 6.66; 63.7% women) was recruited to take part in the study. Episodic, semantic and working memory were assessed with computerized battery tests (Sepidar) and a self-report questionnaire was used to assess intellectual activities. Activities were categorized in terms of; (1) passive, familiar, and receptive activities (radio/watching TV), (2) active, familiar, and receptive activities (solving crosswords), (3) active, novel, and receptive activities (reading), and (4) active, novel, and productive activities (writing).

The results indicated that writing moderates the effect of age on episodic and semantic memory. Reading only moderates the effect of age on semantic memory, and radio/watching TV and solving crosswords do not play a role in moderation analysis.

Our finding suggests that intellectual activities have different moderating effects on the relationships between age and memory performance. Individuals with high levels of participation in novel and productive activities over the life course are less likely to clinically demonstrate cognitive impairments. Our results support the potential benefit of the three-dimensional model to provide a better insight into the complex role of intellectual activities in cognitive reserve, particularly for older adults. Further research is needed to evaluate the efficacy and the benefits of the model.