There are many active research projects accessing and applying shared ADNI data. Use the search above to find specific research focuses on the active ADNI investigations. This information is requested annually as a requirement for data access.
| Principal Investigator | |
| Principal Investigator's Name: | Raghad Tabaza |
| Institution: | Loma Linda Univeristy |
| Department: | Department of Psychology |
| Country: | |
| Proposed Analysis: | The Impact of Cognitive Reserve on Executive Function in Dementia/AD How does Cognitive Reserve (CR) impact the executive function of individuals with dementia? CR theory seeks to explain the observed mismatch between the degree of brain pathology and clinical manifestations. Early-life education, midlife social and occupational activities and later-life cognitive and social interactions are associated with a more favorable CR in older people (Hindle et al., 2016). Higher CR has been found to have an advantageous effect on performance on cognitive tests in patients with Parkinson’s Disease (Hindle et al., 2015). Additional findings suggest that CR, in particular years of education, may contribute to executive function and memory function in those with PD (Loftus et al., 2021). Furthermore, when AD pathology is present, higher cognitive reserve predicts slower executive function decline (McKenzie et al., 2020). Given the prior studies done on CR and its impact on different brain functions, it is predicted that CR will be positively correlated with performance on tasks of executive function as demonstrated by the neuropsychological battery and scores of patients with Dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease. CR is a hypothetical construct that cannot be directly measured or observed (Cheng, 2016). Measures such as education level, premorbid intelligence (IQ), linguistic ability, and occupational complexity are often used to represent cognitive reserve. Executive function involves a set of skills that allow the brain to plan, carry out decisions, and self-control. Executive function domains primarily consist of working memory, shifting, and inhibition. According to a previous study, tests such as WCST, WAIS-IV Similarities/Letter-Number Sequencing/Digit Span, Trails B, Stroop C, and FAS can be used to measure different aspects of the executive functioning domain (Alvarez and Emory, 2006). For the purposes of this research question, data will be extracted from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) study to examine the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR), Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale, Neuropsychological Battery, and sociobehavioral proxy indicators such as education level, occupation, and/or premorbid intelligence as a measure of CR. |
| Additional Investigators |
