The relationship between cognitive reserve and personality traits: a pilot study on a healthy aging Italian sample

Personality traits and cognitive reserve-High openness benefits cognition in the presence of age-related brain changes

Cognitive reserve explains differential susceptibility of cognitive performance to neuropathology. We investigated whether certain personality traits underlie cognitive reserve and are accordingly associated with better cognition and less cognitive decline in the presence of age-related brain changes. We included healthy adults aged 19-80 years for cross-sectional (N=399) and longitudinal (N=273, mean follow-up time=5 years, SD=0.7 years) analyses. Assessment of the BIG5 personality traits openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism was questionnaire-based. Each cognitive domain (perceptual speed, memory, fluid reasoning, vocabulary) was measured with up to six tasks. Cognitive domain-specific brain status variables were obtained by combining 77 structural brain measures into single scores using elastic net regularization. These brain status variables explained up to 43.1% of the variance in cognitive performance. We found that higher openness was associated with higher fluid reasoning and better vocabulary after controlling for brain status, age, and sex. Further, lower brain status was associated with a greater decline in perceptual speed only in individuals with low openness. We conclude that high openness benefits cognitive reserve.

The Effect of COVID-19 on Middle-Aged Adults' Mental Health: A Mixed-Method Case-Control Study on the Moderating Effect of Cognitive Reserve

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the vulnerability of adults to mental health effects, and the study of protective factors has become crucial. Cognitive reserve (CR) is a well-known protective factor against cognitive decline and several health factors; however, its protective effect on mental health during the pandemic has been rarely addressed. Thus, this study explored, through a mixed-method design, the effect of CR on perceived distress and PTSD-like symptoms in middle-aged participants who have survived severe COVID-19 and a matched control group. A total of 432 participants filled out self-report measures of CR, PTSD, depression, and anxiety, and were also asked to provide narration about their COVID-19-related experience. COVID-19 significantly affected the chances of reporting different mental health symptoms; levels of CR played a protective role in reducing their severity. Moreover, adults with higher CR seemed to be more realistic, focusing less on positive emotions, and elaborating more on the sense of anxiety when describing their experience: this might be an indication of a lower use of suppression to regulate emotions. Practical implications of these findings and future directions have been also discussed.

Neurophysiological and neuropsychological parameters in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common type of localization-related epilepsy (LRE) and has been extensively studied in the field of neuropsychology due to its significant association with cognitive impairments. Cognitive decline has long been recognized as a consequence of this form of epilepsy, with previous studies primarily focusing on neurophysiological measures. In this study, both neurophysiological and neuropsychological factors were analyzed in TLE patients compared to healthy control subjects. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) tests were used to assess neuropsychological processes, while cognitive event-related potential (ERPs), particularly P300, were employed to analyze neurophysiological parameters. The study involved 21 TLE patients (mean age = 61.43) and 21 healthy control subjects. The results revealing that TLE patients scored significantly lower, indicating deficits in specific cognitive areas. The study also observed abnormalities in the ERPs, particularly in the assessment of P300 amplitude and latency, that may be indicative of underlying neural dysfunction related to attention and cognitive processing. In conclusion, the study provides compelling evidence of the association between TLE and a high incidence of cognitive deficits and decline. By considering both neurophysiological and neuropsychological factors, the study sheds light on the comprehensive impact of TLE on various cognitive domains and emphasizes the importance of early identification and management of cognitive impairments in TLE patients.

The relationship between cognitive reserve and the spontaneous use of emotion regulation strategies in older adults: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Several studies reported cognitive reserve (CR) as an important factor in promoting healthy aging within a non-clinical aging population.

AIMS

The main goal of the present study is to investigate the link between higher levels of CR and more effective emotion regulation. In more detail, we examine the association between a number of CR proxies and the habitual use of two emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and emotional suppression.

METHODS

Three hundred and ten older adults aged between 60 and 75 (mean = 64.45, SD = 4.37; 69.4% female) joined this cross-sectional study by filling out self-report measures of CR and emotion regulation.² RESULTS: Reappraisal and suppression use were correlated. Practicing different leisure activities constantly over many years, being more original and having a higher education promoted more frequent use of cognitive reappraisal. These CR proxies were also significantly related to suppression use, even though the percentage of variance explained was lower.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Exploring the role played by the cognitive reserve on different emotion regulation techniques can be useful in understanding which variables predict the use of antecedent-focused (reappraisal) or response-focused (suppression) emotion regulation strategies in aging individuals.

Big Five personality factors predict self-rated cognitive reserve: a two-wave online study in a Mexican sample

Introduction: One of the main contributors to cognitive reserve (CR) is the involvement in cognitively stimulating activities (CSAs), including education, work, leisure, social and physical activities. Personality traits are plausible determinants of CR, influencing the tendency to engage in CSAs. The goal of this study was to evaluate the association between personality and CR, operationalised as self-rated involvement in CSAs, in a sample of individuals aged 18-50 or more. Method: We collected two-wave non-probabilistic online data throughout Mexico. The instruments were the Big Five Inventory-2 for the baseline, its extra-short form for the follow-up and the Self-Rating of Cognitive Reserve (SRCR). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were performed to test the unifactorial structure of the SRCR, and multiple regressions were conducted with personality factors as predictors of CR. Results: For the baseline, 2025 participants were recruited, and 610 for the follow-up, most of them female and aged 18-40. CFAs showed excellent goodness-of-fit, and the regression analyses proved Negative Emotionality and Extraversion to be the main predictors of CR. Conclusions: Our study highlights the need to identify personality profiles at high risk of underdevelopment of CR in ages where it is still feasible to promote engagement in CSAs.

Facets of Personality and Risk of Cognitive Impairment: Longitudinal Findings in a Rural Community from Sardinia

Background: Few studies have examined the associations between personality facets and dementia risk and rarely included individuals from rural settings or with low education. Objective: To examine the association between personality and the risk of cognitive impairment. Methods: Participants (N = 1,668; age 50 to 94 at baseline; 56.4% women; 86.5% less than high school diploma) were from a rural region of Sardinia (Italy) who completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) during the first wave (2001–2004) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) at waves two to five (2005–2021). Cox regression was used to test personality and covariates as predictors of cognitive impairment based on MMSE education-adjusted cutoffs. Results: During the up to 18-year follow-up (M = 10.38; SD = 4.76), 187 individuals (11.2%) scored as cognitively impaired. Participants with higher neuroticism (particularly the depression facet [HR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.06–1.40]), and lower agreeableness (particularly the modesty facet [HR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.71–0.97]) and lower conscientiousness (particularly the dutifulness facet [HR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.67–0.92]) were at higher risk of cognitive impairment. Lower warmth ([HR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.65–0.87], facet of extraversion) and ideas ([HR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.65–0.89], facet of openness) were also associated with increased risk of impairment. These associations were virtually unchanged in models that accounted for other risk factors, including smoking, depression, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and apolipoprotein E (APOE) ɛ4 carrier status. Across the five domains, sex and the APOE variant did not moderate the associations. Conclusion: In a sample with demographic characteristics underrepresented in dementia research, this study identifies personality domains and facets most relevant to the risk of cognitive impairment.

Sense of Coherence Mediates the Relationship Between Cognitive Reserve and Cognition in Middle-Aged Adults

In recent years, supported by new scientific evidence, the conceptualization of cognitive reserve (CR) has been progressively enriched and now encompasses not only cognitive stimulating activities or educational level, but also lifestyle activities, such as leisure physical activity and socialization. In this context, there is increasing interest in understanding the role of psychological factors in brain health and cognitive functioning. In a previous study, we have found that these factors mediated the relationship between CR and self-reported cognitive functioning. In this study, we have confirmed an association between two important constructs included in the psychological wellbeing and salutogenic models, "purpose in life" and "sense of coherence," CR, as assessed using a questionnaire, and cognitive functioning, as evaluated using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Results from 888 middle-aged healthy participants from the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative indicate that both sense of coherence (SoC) and CR were positively associated with verbal memory, reasoning and attention, working memory, and global cognition. Moreover, the relation between CR and cognitive functioning in the different domains is partially mediated by SoC. When we controlled for brain integrity, introducing into the model neurofilament light chain measures, the mediator role of SoC was confirmed for reasoning and attention and global cognition. However, purpose in life was not associated with cognitive functioning. These results reveal the central role of the SoC construct, which mediates the association between classic CR estimates and cognitive functions, potentially representing a modifiable target for interventions that aim to promote brain health.

Does personality shape the personal social networks of older Europeans?

The aim of the study was to clarify whether personality traits predict the structure, function and quality of egocentric confidant networks in later life. Data were drawn from Waves 7 and 8 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) (N = 39,172). We regressed network size, contact frequency and network satisfaction on the Big-5 personality traits, using a single path analysis structure, controlling for country, sociodemographic background and health status. The findings showed that the personality traits were related to the social network outcomes, but their effect was modest and less predictive than the contextual factors. The country predictors explained the most variance, generally, with some surprising results. For example, confidant networks were the largest in Scandinavia and Central Europe, and smallest in the Mediterranean region and Eastern Europe. Among the personality traits, extraversion was the most consistent positive predictor, but conscientiousness was also predictive. Neuroticism was a negative predictor, but not of network size. The sociodemographic variables, particularly partner status, explained more variance than the personality traits did. In sum, the SHARE database offers a comprehensive and differentiated view of the complex interpersonal milieus in which older Europeans are embedded.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10433-021-00678-8.

The role of automatic and controlled processes in the positivity effect for older adults

BACKGROUND

The positivity effect can be defined as an age-related attentional preference for positive information. The age differences are due to an attentional bias in which the young focused more intently on the negative stimuli, whereas the older attend to capture positive stimuli. There are two cognitive-emotional models that can explain the positivity effect: the socio-emotional selectivity theory (SST) and the dynamic integration theory (DIT). The SST states that in the older the positivity effect is related to controlled attentional processes, on the opposite, the DIT states that the positivity effect is related to automatic processes.

AIMS

The main aim of the present study was to examine automatic and controlled attentional orienting of young and older adults in the positivity effect.

METHODS

To reach these goals and to verify the generalization of the previous results, we used two experimental paradigms: the dot-probe task and the visual discrimination task with facial stimuli with positive (happy and surprise), negative (fair and angry) and neutral emotional expressions. 50 older and 35 young adults participated in this study.

RESULTS

The older adults reacted faster to positive emotions than neutral or negative ones. They had similar RTs for the three types of emotions in both automatic and controlled attention.

DISCUSSION

The findings are discussed in light of SST and DIT theories.

CONCLUSIONS

This study confirms the positivity effect for the older subjects and support the idea that both automatic and controlled processes play a key role in this effect.

Physical and mental health in the oldest-old: a mixed-methods study on a southern Italy sample

BACKGROUND

The world's aging population has been constantly increasing in the last decades, causing the number oldest-old individuals to increase.

AIMS

The present study aims to explore the different variables that contribute to the oldest-old wellbeing using a mixed-methods approach, including self-reports, standardized measures, and semi-structured interviews.

METHODS

Thirty-nine oldest-old (90-103) from southern Italy were involved in the study, together with a control sample of younger individuals (51-71) from the same families.

RESULTS

Data suggest that the oldest-old have better mental health, higher resilience, and more optimism than younger individuals. High resilience seems to be the key variable that promotes the overall wellbeing.

DISCUSSION

The oldest-old tend to have better mental health, higher resilience and more optimism than younger individuals.

CONCLUSIONS

Wellbeing in the oldest-old appeared to be promoted by the sense of belonging and life purpose.