User:NeuroStudent21/sandbox

NOTE: In process of editing and revising "Cognitive Reserve" page

The parts labeled "Proposed change" are the parts that I plan to change. The rest are comments about the existing article sections that I plan to add to the talk page.

To Write on Talk Page:

Proposed changes:

Brain Reserve

- include that brain reserve is specific to quantifiable metrics of reserve, like size, volume, density, and connectivity. This is important to distinguish it from cognitive reserve, which is more qualitative metrics of reserve.

Brain Size

Remove this section all together and maybe replace it with grey matter or white matter volume. Brain size (ICV...I guess?) is not well studied is is not known to correlate to function at all. Grey matter volume does because it implies more/larger cell bodies and therefore more computing power. White matter volume does because it implies better connections from brain area to brain area. However, overall size does not really map onto this model and should be omitted.

Number of Neural Connections

Poorly written section but I like the idea. This is a very exciting concept in the CR field that cannot really be explored yet in live humans but is thought to be a mechanism for reserve. I do not plan on editing this although I do admit it needs review.

Genetic component of cognitive reserve

I'm not sure that there is enough literature on this to give it its own section. Maybe delete

Cognitive Reserve

Cognitive reserve also indicates a resilience to neuropathological damage, but the emphasis here is in the way the brain uses its damaged resources. It could be defined as the ability to optimize or maximize performance through differential recruitment of brain networks and/or alternative cognitive strategies. This is an efficiency model, rather than a threshold model, and it implies that the task is processed using less resources or using neural resources more efficiently, resulting in better cognitive performance. Studies use factors like education, occupation, and lifestyle as proxies for cognitive reserve because they tend to positively correlate with higher cognitive reserve.

Education and Occupation

Two popular proxies to study cognitive reserve are education and occupation. Education is measured either by the highest level of education achieved or the amount of years an individual spends in school . Clinically, education is negatively correlated with dementia severity , but positively correlated with grey matter atrophy, intracranial volume, and overall global cognition . Neurologically, education is correlated to greater functional connectivity between frontoparietal regions and greater cortical thickness in the left inferior temporal gyrus. Occupation as a proxy for cognitive reserve is positively correlated with local efficiency and functional connectivity in the right medial temporal lobe . More cognitively stimulating occupations are weakly associated with greater memory, but are more strongly correlated with greater executive functioning . These two proxies are typically measured together and are typically highly correlated with each other .

Lifestyle

Describe what is meant by lifestyle. Cognitively stimulating activities, social interactions, diet + exercise, etc.

Global Reserve

I like the computer analogy but that seems informal for Wikipedia. I have never personally seen the term "global reserve" in any literature discussing cognitive reserve, so I am not sure what is meant by this. Hopefully another author can clear this up for me.

Neurotrophic effect of knowledge

If there is only one subheading, then there is no point in having a subheading. Logistically, either add another section or remove this entirely. Again, because I am not sure what is meant by global reserve, I do not feel comfortable making this decision.

London taxi drivers are a good example but it is explained poorly and inaccurately. Language doesn't really affect brain matter but instead functional patterns of activation.

Clinical Implications

Because this is similar to a "future directions" section, this section should include more recent studies, especially because the cognitive reserve field is dramatically and rapidly evolving. Additionally, cognitive reserve has been studied not only in patients with Alzheimer's Disease, but also in normal aging. This can either be included in the entire article (because currently it mainly focuses on Alzheimer's disease), or be another article itself.