Are You an Avid Reader?

Robert W. Griffith, MD

'Cognitive reserve' is the expression used for the maintenance of mental performance in spite of underlying brain disease. Obviously, anything that can boost or preserve cognitive reserve is a good thing. Well, a report in the medial journal Neurology suggests that avid reading may be just such a method. The underlying brain damage was produced by lead poisoning.

Lead exposure is associated with impaired cognitive function, as shown by standard neuropsychological testing. Smelter workers are particularly liable to have this impairment, or at least a reduced cognitive reserve. The Baltimore researchers classified over 100 Canadian lead smelter workers, using the Wide Range Achievement Test-R ( WRAT-R, which reflects reading achievement, and is a recognized measure of cognitive reserve), into low and high cognitive reserve groups.

In the low cognitive reserve group, there was a clear dose-effect relationship between blood lead levels and cognitive effects - the higher the blood lead, the lower the score for cognitive performance. This dose-effect relationship was not present in the high cognitive reserve group.

This study shows that cognitive reserve (as shown by good results in the WRAT-R) protects against the effect of chronic lead exposure on mental functioning. It should be mentioned that all the lead workers showed some disturbance of their motor, or movement, ability, a known effect of lead poisoning. So the protection offered by reading was limited to 'brain' benefits, not 'muscle' benefits.

The findings will be of help to neurological researchers and, perhaps, to lead smelters in Canada, who clearly need to join the library. It looks as if using the brain can help protect the brain, something we like to plug for potential Alzheimer victims.

Source
HealthandAge Blog

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