The relationship between cognitive reserve and personality traits: a pilot study on a healthy aging Italian sample
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The relationship between cognitive reserve and personality traits: a pilot study on a healthy aging Italian sample Barbara Colombo1 · Giulia Piromalli2 · Brittany Pins1 · Catherine Taylor1 · Rosa Angela Fabio2 Received: 11 July 2019 / Accepted: 11 October 2019 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract Background Exploring the role of different individual factors in affecting the cognitive reserve levels is crucial step for aging research. Several studies explored the relationship between personality traits and aging, but a specific focus on the cognitive reserve is missing. Aims This study aimed at collecting more direct evidence about possible relationships between cognitive reserve and personality traits. Methods A sample of 100 healthy aging participants was involved in the study. They completed the Big Five personality inventory and a test to assess the cognitive reserve. Results Results returned a positive relationship between the personality traits and participants’ cognitive reserve. The only factor that did not return a significant correlation was Emotional stability (which overlaps with Neuroticism). Discussion This study provides additional evidence to the existing literature and also adds relevant information and a critical reading regarding the role of personality traits that has been neglected in the aging literature, Friendliness and Conscientiousness. Conclusion The ability to measure and identify personality traits could be important in future research for developing interventions or activities that could target specific personality characteristics. Keywords Cognitive reserve · Personality · Healthy aging · Big Five
Introduction Cognitive reserve (CR) can be understood on a basic level as a protective neural mechanism for coping with the effects of neural damage by either promoting the continuance of operation of a cognitive paradigm despite damage or providing a new paradigm, when the old one is too damaged to be used again [1]. Cognitive reserve is conceptually based on the more general reserve theory, which delineates a passive Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-019-01386-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Barbara Colombo [email protected] 1
Neuroscience Lab, Champlain College, 163 South Willard Street, 05401 Burlington, VT, USA
Department of Clinical and Medical Medicine, University of Messina, Piazza Pugliatti 1, 98122 Messina, Italy
2
model of reserve from an active model of reserve [1, 2]. The passive model focuses on the brain reserve capacity or threshold. It holds that brain reserve capacity varies per person, but among all people, functional deficits may occur when a threshold for neural damage is passed and the brain reserve is depleted. In contrast, the active model focuses on cognitive reserve. The inherent idea is that the brain actively uses pre-existing cognitive means or compensatory methods to complete functions that may
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