The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Feb 2010
ReviewAging, brain disease, and reserve: implications for delirium.
Cognitive and brain reserve are well studied in the context of age-associated cognitive impairment and dementia. However, there is a paucity of research that examines the role of cognitive or brain reserve in delirium. Indicators (or proxy measures) of cognitive or brain reserve (such as brain size, education, and activities) pose challenges in the context of the long prodromal phase of Alzheimer disease but are diminished in the context of delirium, which is of acute onset. ⋯ The authors highlight future research directions to move the field ahead. Reserve may be a potentially modifiable characteristic. Studying the role of reserve in delirium can advance prevention strategies for delirium and may advance knowledge of reserve and its role in aging and neuropsychiatric disease generally.