Question

What is the relationship that has been observed between formal education and the development of Alzheimer’s disease. What theoretical and neurological explanations have been offered for this observation?

Answer 1

The effects of formal education on the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease:

The effects of formal education on the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease was investigated by researchers at the Department of Psychiatry by Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München. They were able to demonstrate that education diminishes the impact of Alzheimer's disease on cognition even if a manifest brain volume loss has already occurred. The association between brain damage caused by Alzheimer's disease and the associated dementia symptoms is not always close. In addition, there are individuals with serious brain disease with virtually no signs of dementia, whereas those with only mild brain lesions show significant clinical symptoms. The theoretical concept of cognitive reserve is often ascribed to these phenomena. A high degree of cognitive reserve results in a strong individual resistance to brain injury symptoms; thus, cognitive reserve can be seen as protective against brain damage. In support of this, previous studies have shown that length of formal education is correlated with cognitive reserve and comparison of individuals with the same degree of brain damage indicates that those with more years of formal education experience less serious dementia symptoms. Research has suggested a variety of theories to explain the association between education and dementia risk, for example, brain reserve, cognitive reserve, brain-battering hypothesis,diagnostic bias and education as a proxy for a third variable.