Education may change brain function later in life

Individuals with higher levels of education tend to have better preservation of brain function in later life - and this may be associated with greater activity in the frontal lobe of the brain, according to a report in the medical journal Neuropsychology.

In other words, it seems that the frontal cortex is engaged by older people "as an alternative network" to aid the thought process.

"Higher education is associated with a number of things, such as better health, hobbies, type of leisure activity, etc.," Dr. Cheryl L. Grady from University of Toronto, Ontario, told Reuters Health. "All these factors probably influence cognitive function and brain activity."

Grady and colleagues used MRI during memory tasks performed by 14 young adults (18 to 30 years old) and 19 older adults (65 years or older) to examine the effect of age on the relationship between education and brain activity.

In older adults, higher education level was associated with activity in the frontal lobe of the brain, whereas lower education level was associated with activity in other regions of the brain.

The patterns were opposite in the younger adults, the report indicates.

"The main finding from this experiment, and its novel contribution, is that the brain regions associated with years of education and overall memory ability differ with age," the authors write.

The results provide further evidence for an age-related alteration in the regions controlling cognition and suggest that the brain region engaged by highly educated older adults may reflect a type of "cognitive reserve" or alternative network used to aid the thought process, the investigators point out.

"The aging process is quite variable and is not associated with general decline in cognitive function," Dr. Grady concluded. "Older adults with more education are likely to be those with 'successful aging,' and this seems to be related to how effectively they use their frontal lobes."

SOURCE: Neuropsychology, March 2005.