Engagement in Enriching Early-Life Activities Is Associated With Larger Hippocampal and Amygdala Volumes in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Is Early-Life Enrichment Associated With Better Cognitive Function Among Older Adults? Examining Home and School Environments

Objectives: We examine whether early-life enrichment, involving varied and stimulating activities to enhance cognitive function during childhood and adolescence, is associated with cognitive function in later life and whether the benefits persist over time. Methods: Growth curve models were used to examine up to five waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study-a nationally representative survey of adults 50 years and older (N = 10,070). We constructed separate measures of early-life enrichment to distinguish sources of influence (i.e., enriched home environment and enriched school environment). Global cognitive function was assessed with a modified version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status. Results: Greater enrichment in each environment was incrementally associated with better cognitive function at baseline, but enrichment was not associated with change in cognitive function over time. Discussion: Receiving enrichment from multiple environments during sensitive periods of cognitive development may be advantageous for cognitive functioning in later life.

Cognitive aging and the life course: A new look at the Scaffolding theory

Our understanding of human neurocognitive aging, its developmental roots, and life course influences has been transformed by brain imaging technologies, increasing availability of longitudinal data sets, and analytic advances. The Scaffolding Theory of Aging and Cognition is a life course model, proposed originally in 2009, featuring adaptivity and compensatory potential as lifelong mechanisms for meeting neurocognitive challenges posed by the environment and by developing or declining brain circuitry. Here, we review the scaffolding theory in relation to new evidence addressing when during the life course potentially enriching and depleting factors exert their effects on brain health and scaffolding, and we consider the implications for separable, and potentially reciprocal, influences on the level of cognitive function and the rate of decline in later life.

Integrating Lifestyle Factor Science into Neuropsychological Practice: A National Academy of Neuropsychology Education Paper

OBJECTIVE

The primary aim of this paper is to review evidence and clinical implications related to lifestyle activities associated with promoting brain and cognitive health. Our review targets four key lifestyle factors: physical activity and exercise, social engagement, cognitively stimulating activity, and consuming Mediterranean-style diets.

METHOD

We conducted a critical review of the lifestyle factor literature in the four domains listed earlier. We contextualize this literature review by translating findings, when possible, into evidence-based recommendations to consider when providing neuropsychological services.

RESULTS

There is significant current evidence supporting the role of physical activity and exercise, social engagement, cognitively stimulating activity, and consuming Mediterranean-style diets on positive brain and cognitive health outcomes. While some null findings are present in all four areas reviewed, the weight of the evidence supports the notion that engaging in these activities may promote brain and cognitive functioning.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinical neuropsychologists can have confidence in recommending engagement in physical activity, social activity, and cognitively stimulating activity, and adhering to a Mediterranean-style diet to promote brain and cognitive health. We discuss limitations in existing lifestyle factor research and future directions to enhance the existing evidence base, including additional research with historically underrepresented groups and individuals with neurological conditions.

Timing of lifespan influences on brain and cognition

Modifiable risk and protective factors for boosting brain and cognitive development and preventing neurodegeneration and cognitive decline are embraced in neuroimaging studies. We call for sobriety regarding the timing and quantity of such influences on brain and cognition. Individual differences in the level of brain and cognition, many of which present already at birth and early in development, appear stable, larger, and more pervasive than differences in change across the lifespan. Incorporating early-life factors, including genetics, and investigating both level and change will reduce the risk of ascribing undue importance and causality to proximate factors in adulthood and older age. This has implications for both mechanistic understanding and prevention.

Who Has Active Lifestyles? Sociodemographic and Personality Correlates of Activity Diversity in Two Samples of Adults

OBJECTIVES

Activity diversity-an index of active lifestyles that captures variety (number) and evenness (consistency) in activity engagement-is known to support health in adulthood. However, less is known who has higher or lower activity diversity, information that helps identify individuals who may be at greater risk for poor health. This article examined sociodemographic characteristics and Big Five personality traits that may be associated with activity diversity.

METHODS

We used 2 independent project samples (nsample1 = 2,699; nsample2 = 301). Sample 1 included U.S. national adults in a wide age range (25-84). Sample 2 included U.S. community-dwelling older adults (age = 65-89). Each study asked about different types of activity engagement using surveys. The activity diversity index was calculated in each sample, using Shannon's entropy method.

RESULTS

In Sample 1, older adults, women, non-Hispanic White individuals, married/partnered individuals, and those with higher education and fewer functional limitations had higher activity diversity. Additionally, higher conscientiousness, higher extraversion, and lower neuroticism were each associated with higher activity diversity after controlling for sociodemographic factors. Extraversion and neuroticism remained significant in the younger group (age < 65) of Sample 1, but only extraversion was a significant factor associated with activity diversity in the older group (age ≥ 65). The results in the older group were generally replicated in Sample 2, such that higher extraversion in older adults was consistently associated with higher activity diversity independent of the strong correlates of sex, education, and functional limitations.

DISCUSSION

Findings were discussed in terms of age-specific associations between sociodemographic and personality characteristics and activity diversity.

Exploring the Relationship Between Engagement in Enriching Early-Life Activities During Adolescence and Cognition in Later-Life: Results From the Health and Retirement Study

The cognitive benefits associated with mid- to late-life engagement have been demonstrated in several studies. However, the link between engagement in enriching early-life activities (EELAs) during adolescence and later-life cognition has been relatively unexplored in major epidemiological studies. We examined the EELA-cognition relationship in a nationally representative sample of adults aged 50+. A subset of Health and Retirement Study respondents (n=3482) completed cognitive tests and returned a retrospective early-life activity inventory. Linear regression models analyzed the EELA-cognition relationship, and multiple imputation addressed missingness. Each additional EELA was associated with a 0.36 point higher cognitive score (95% CI: 0.24, 0.47). This relationship remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders (B=0.16; 95% CI: [0.06, 0.26]). EELA engagement was associated with better later-life cognitive performance. This study is understood to be the first to examine the EELA-cognition relationship using a large, nationally representative dataset. The findings highlight the importance of early-life engagement during an important developmental period (e.g., adolescence).

Association between Physical Activity Levels and Brain Volumes in Adults Visiting Radio-Imaging Center of Tertiary Care Hospital

BACKGROUND AND AIM

There is evidence to support the favorable impact of physical activity (PA) on brain volume. However, the empirical evidence exploring the relationship between physical and sedentary behavior remains mixed. We aimed to explore the relationship between PA and sedentary behavior and brain volume.

METHODS

The study sample (n = 150, mean age = 39.7 years) included patients interviewed with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) who underwent an MRI brain scan. From the images obtained, we measured total intracranial, gray matter, and white matter volume along with the hippocampus, amygdala, parahippocampal gyrus, and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Multivariable linear regression analysis was done.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Left hippocampus and overall PA were positively and significantly associated (β = 0.71, p = 0.021) whereas time spent on vigorous physical activity showed a negative association (β = -0.328, p = 0.049) with left hippocampal volume.

CONCLUSION

We found a positive association between total PA and the left hippocampus, whereas vigorous PA showed a negative association with the left hippocampus.

Life course linkages between enriching early-life activities and later life cognition: Evidence from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study

Prior research suggests that participation in enriching early-life activities (EELAs) has long-term benefits for cognitive health and aging. This study aims to examine the life course processes underlying these associations by drawing on theoretical models from life course epidemiology. Specifically, we tested sensitive-period effects, social pathways, and selection effects as potential explanations for linkages between greater participation in EELAs and better later life cognition. We drew on data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), which is among the longest-running cohort studies in the U.S. that has followed graduates (all identified as non-Hispanic White) from Wisconsin high schools since 1957. We used prospective measures of key variables, including information from high school yearbooks, with assessments of cognitive performance at ages 65 and 72. Results from multilevel modeling indicated that greater participation in cognitively oriented extracurricular activities (but not physically nor socially oriented activities) was associated with both better language/executive functioning and memory at age 65. Although the size of these associations was reduced when accounting for other cognitive resources in adolescence (childhood socioeconomic status and adolescent cognitive ability) and in midlife (adult socioeconomic status and formal group participation), there remained small, yet statistically robust, associations. We did not find robust associations between greater EELA engagement and slower rates of decline in cognition between ages 65 and 72, nor did we find evidence of gender differences. Results suggest that for this cohort of older adults, EELA participation is part of life course "protective chains," whereby exposures to assets at one point in the life course increase the likelihood of subsequent exposures, each sequentially and in their own right, toward better later life cognition. We discuss how results support the importance of policies and practices to promote healthy cognitive development among youth for the long-term cognitive health of a rapidly aging U.S. population.

Relationships between enriching early life experiences and cognitive function later in life are mediated by educational attainment

The study of how engagement in enriching cognitive, physical and social activities in childhood impacts cognitive function decades later will advance our understanding of how modifiable lifestyle activities promote cognition across the lifespan. 88 healthy older adults (aged 60-80 years) returned a retrospective questionnaire regarding their participation in seven lifestyle activities (musical instrument playing, language learning, sport participation, art/dance lessons, scouting, volunteering, family vacations) before age 13 years. After controlling for current age, educational attainment, socioeconomic status of the mother and current engagement in lifestyle activities, a greater number of activities were significantly associated with better vocabulary abilities, episodic memory and fluid intelligence. The relationships with vocabulary and fluid intelligence were mediated by educational attainment. We postulate that engagement in a higher number of enriching early life activities is a reflection of both one's sociocontextual environment and engagement with that environment. This engagement leads to attributes relevant for educational aspirations/attainment, ultimately contributing to factors that have a lifespan impact on cognitive function.

Productive Social Engagement as a Vehicle to Promote Activity and Neuro-Cognitive Health in Later Adulthood

OBJECTIVE

We have witnessed two key findings that shift our understanding of human brain aging in new directions. First, we learned that the adult brain remains plastic beyond childhood development, generating new neurons in response to activity and new experiences, particularly in regions that integrate memories in social contexts. The second emerging finding is the importance of physical activity and social engagement to cognitive aging. I integrate these and other empirical findings with our understanding of brain development over the life span and the later-life developmental need to give back to younger generations to posit the importance of maintaining our "social" brain through retirement and into later life when activity remains beneficial to brain health.

CONCLUSIONS

Opportunities for improved cognitive and brain health that can be brought to scale need to capitalize on aging adults' need to remain socially relevant and on community infrastructures so that those with lower neighborhood access to activity can safely engage. Evidence is summarized here from one such community-based model of social engagement through school-based, volunteer service, entitled Experience Corps®. This program seeks to increase daily physical, cognitive, and social activity to promote cognitive and mental health.

Traits and treadmills: Association between personality and perceived fatigability in well-functioning community-dwelling older adults

Physical fatigability, or susceptibility to physical fatigue, is strongly associated with aging, disease, and disability. Over the lifecourse, personality traits are also connected to numerous age-related vulnerabilities and resistance-yet, their longitudinal association with fatigability remains unknown. Well-functioning community-dwelling volunteers aged ≥50 (N = 995) from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) were assessed over an average of 2 years on personality traits (NEO-PI-R; openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) and perceived fatigability [Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) after a 5-min slow treadmill walk; 6 (low) to 20 (high) exertion]. Linear and multinomial logistic regression models examined cross-sectional associations [treating fatigability continuously and by RPE category: low (6-7), intermediate (8-9), and high (10+)]. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) tested longitudinal associations. All models were adjusted for demographics and comorbid conditions. In cross-sectional models, openness, β = -.09 RPE (SE =.03); p < .01, conscientiousness, β = -.07 (.03); p < .05, and extraversion, β = -.10 (.03); p < .01, were negatively associated with fatigability. In parallel, lower openness, OR: .98, 95% CI [.96-1.00], conscientiousness, OR: .98, 95% CI [.96-1.00], and extraversion, OR: .97, 95% CI [.95-.99], corresponded with higher odds of having high versus low fatigability. In longitudinal models (mean follow-up time 2 ± 2 years), openness, conscientiousness, and extraversion associations remained significant and did not change over time (Trait × Year p values > .34). Together, findings suggest that personality plays a role in the perceived tolerance of fatigue in well-functioning older adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Risk of Dementia Differs across Lifestyle Engagement Subgroups: A Latent Class and Time to Event Analysis in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

Better understanding of the lifestyle activities shared among older adult subgroups may inform further health-behavioral interventions that can be deployed at the group or community level. We applied latent class analysis to characterize qualitatively distinct lifestyle engagement groups, examined their differential risk of incident dementia, and compared their predictive utility to traditional activity frequency and variety scores.

METHOD

Participants were from the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory Study (N=3,068, Mean age=78.5). Lifestyle activities were measured at baseline using the Lifestyle Activity Questionnaire. All-cause dementia was screened every six months and cases were clinically adjudicated. Median follow-up was 6 years. Time to dementia was assessed using discrete-time proportional hazards models, adjusted for demographic and health covariates.

RESULTS

Latent classes provided slightly poorer case discrimination than the frequency scores but identified distinct qualitative subgroups. In the four-class model, the Variety (22%) and Intellectual (18%) lifestyle groups had high engagement in intellectual activities, whereas the Variety and Social groups (32%) had high engagement in formal social activities. Compared to the Least Active group (28%), the Variety (HR=.67, 95% CI:(.48,.93)) and Intellectual (HR=.65, 95% CI:(.45,.93)) groups had significantly lower risk of incident dementia, but only among those without prevalent MCI.

DISCUSSION

Older adults highly engaged in intellectual activities, but not necessarily social activities, had the lowest risk of incident dementia. Activity frequency scores provided only slightly better case discrimination than activity variety scores and latent classes. Latent classes of older adults differed by their amount and types of activities, which may inform intervention design.

Rich and Balanced Experiences of Daily Emotions are Associated with Activity Diversity Across Adulthood

OBJECTIVES

Studies demonstrate the association between diverse emotions and health. However, we know little about how these emotions are related to activities in daily life. This study examined whether the diversity of daily activities ("activity diversity") is associated with the diversity of both positive and negative daily emotions ("emodiversity") in adulthood. We also examined if these associations differed by age.

METHODS

Two separate samples of participants from the Midlife in the United States Study II (M2: 2004-2009, n=2,012, Mage=56yrs) and Refresher (MR: 2012-2016, n=779, Mage=47yrs) provided activity and emotion data for eight consecutive days. Using Shannon's entropy, we constructed activity diversity and emodiversity (positive, negative) scores. Analyses adjusted for sociodemographic and health characteristics, total activity time, mean positive/negative emotions, and number of days with positive/negative emotion data.

RESULTS

Greater activity diversity was associated with greater positive emodiversity and greater negative emodiversity in both samples. In the M2 sample, the association between activity diversity and positive emodiversity was stronger among relatively younger adults, such the positive association among those aged 33-44 years was greater than that observed among those aged 68-84 years. Results held after adjusting for time spent in each of the activities or when using different emodiversity metrics (Gini or Simpson coefficients).

DISCUSSION

Broad and even participation of daily activities may provide more opportunities to experience rich and balanced emotions. Findings suggest that the association between activity diversity and emodiversity exists across adulthood, underscoring the value of including information about daily activities when examining emotional experiences across the lifespan.

Change Is Good for the Brain: Activity Diversity and Cognitive Functioning Across Adulthood

OBJECTIVES

Participating in a variety of daily activities (i.e., activity diversity) requires people to adjust to a variety of situations and engage in a greater diversity of behaviors. These experiences may, in turn, enhance cognitive functioning. This study examined associations between activity diversity and cognitive functioning across adulthood.

METHOD

Activity diversity was defined as the breadth and evenness of participation in seven common daily activity domains (e.g., paid work, time with children, leisure, physical activities, volunteering). Participants from the National Survey of Daily Experiences (NSDE: N = 732, Mage = 56) provided activity data during eight consecutive days at Wave 1 (W1) and Wave 2 (W2) 10 years apart. They also provided cognitive data at W2.

RESULTS

Greater activity diversity at W2 was associated with higher overall cognitive functioning and higher executive functioning at W2. Individuals who increased activity diversity from W1 to W2 also exhibited higher scores in overall cognitive functioning and executive functioning at W2. Overall cognitive functioning, executive functioning, and episodic memory were better in those who had higher activity diversity at both waves, or increased activity diversity from W1 to W2, compared to those who had lower activity diversity or decreased activity diversity over time.

DISCUSSION

Activity diversity is important for cognitive health in adulthood. Future work can study the directionality between activity diversity and cognitive functioning and underlying social and neurological mechanisms for these associations.

Environmental influences on the pace of brain development

Childhood socio-economic status (SES), a measure of the availability of material and social resources, is one of the strongest predictors of lifelong well-being. Here we review evidence that experiences associated with childhood SES affect not only the outcome but also the pace of brain development. We argue that higher childhood SES is associated with protracted structural brain development and a prolonged trajectory of functional network segregation, ultimately leading to more efficient cortical networks in adulthood. We hypothesize that greater exposure to chronic stress accelerates brain maturation, whereas greater access to novel positive experiences decelerates maturation. We discuss the impact of variation in the pace of brain development on plasticity and learning. We provide a generative theoretical framework to catalyse future basic science and translational research on environmental influences on brain development.

Enriching activities during childhood are associated with variations in functional connectivity patterns later in life

Enriching early life experiences (e.g., sport, art, music, volunteering, language learning) during a critical period of brain development may promote structural and functional brain changes that are still present decades later (>60 years). We assessed whether a greater variety of enriching early life activities (EELA) before age 13 years were associated with individual differences in cortical and subcortical (hippocampus and amygdala) structure and function later in life (older adults aged 60-80 years). Results indicated no association between EELA and amygdala and hippocampus volumes, but higher functional connectivity between the amygdala and the insula was associated with more variety of EELA. EELA was not associated with cortical thickness controlling for sex, but sex-specific associations with the right pars opercularis were found. EELA was further associated with variations in functional connectivity patterns of the orbitofrontal cortex, driven by connecitivty to regions within the visual, somatosensory and limbic networks. Early life enriching activities appear to contribute to potential mechanisms of cognitive reserve (functional processes) more so than brain reserve (structure) later in life.

Determinants of mesial temporal lobe volume loss in older individuals with preserved cognition: a longitudinal PET amyloid study

Mesial temporal lobe (MTL) is prominently affected in normal aging and associated with neurodegeneration in AD. Whether or not MTL atrophy is dependent on increasing amyloid load before the emergence of cognitive deficits is still disputed. We performed a 4.5-year longitudinal study in 75 older community dwellers (48 women, mean age: 79.3 years) including magnetic resonance imaging at baseline and follow-up, positron emission tomography amyloid during follow-up, neuropsychological assessment at 18 and 55 months, and APOE genotyping. Linear regression models were used to identify predictors of the MTL volume loss. Amyloid load was negatively associated with bilateral MTL volume at baseline explaining almost 10.5% of its variability. In multivariate models including time of follow-up and demographic variables (older age, male gender), this percentage exceeded 35%. The APOE4 allele independently contributed another 6%. Cognitive changes had a modest but still significant negative association with MTL volume loss. Our data support a multifactorial model including amyloid deposition, older age, male gender, APOE4 allele, and slight decline of cognitive abilities as independent predictors of MTL volume loss in brain aging.