Comparison between Spanish young and elderly people evaluated using Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test

Relationship between Cognitive Reserve and Cognitive Impairment in Autonomous and Institutionalized Older Adults

It is necessary to determine which variables help prevent the presence of decline or deterioration during the aging process as a function of advancing age. This research analyses the relations between cognitive reserve (CR) and cognitive impairment in 300 individuals. It also aims to confirm the influence of different variables (gender, age, level of studies and institutionalization) in CR and in deterioration in a population of older adults. The results indicate that people with higher CR present less deterioration. Regarding the role of the sociodemographic variables in the level of deterioration and CR, there are no differences between men and women, but there are differences in the variables age, level of studies and institutionalization, in such a way that the older age the greater the cognitive deterioration, the higher the level of studies, the more RC and less deterioration and it was found that the non-institutionalized people present less deterioration and greater CR. It is affirmed that two people with similar clinical characteristics may present different levels of pathology, being the CR the explanation of this fact. The results obtained allow us to affirm that the measurement of CR is considered an essential variable for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases.

Influence of age and education on the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test (RBMT) among healthy elderly

Memory is a cognitive domain extensively evaluated in the neuropsychiatric setting. Assessment tools with appropriate norms for age and educational level are necessary for the proper interpretation of results.

Everyday memory errors in older adults

Despite concern about cognitive decline in old age, few studies document the types and frequency of memory errors older adults make in everyday life. In the present study, 105 healthy older adults completed the Everyday Memory Questionnaire (EMQ; Sunderland, Harris, & Baddeley, 1983 , Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 22, 341), indicating what memory errors they had experienced in the last 24 hours, the Memory Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (MSEQ; West, Thorn, & Bagwell, 2003 , Psychology and Aging, 18, 111), and other neuropsychological and cognitive tasks. EMQ and MSEQ scores were unrelated and made separate contributions to variance on the Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE; Folstein, Folstein, & McHugh, 1975 , Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189), suggesting separate constructs. Tip-of-the-tongue errors were the most commonly reported, and the EMQ Faces/Places and New Things subscales were most strongly related to MMSE. These findings may help training programs target memory errors commonly experienced by older adults, and suggest which types of memory errors could indicate cognitive declines of clinical concern.