Advancing Cognitive Reserve Assessment: Multidisciplinary Approaches and Methodologies

Cognitive reserve is a concept that has piqued researchers' interest since the 1980s for its potential to buffer against cognitive decline due to aging or injury. The field consists of evolving interpretations, resulting in inconsistent and sometimes subjective measures of cognitive reserve over time. Nonetheless, recent frameworks have sought to clarify the distinction between cognitive reserve, brain reserve, and brain maintenance. This distinction is essential for refining how we measure these concepts and more accurately capture their contributions to cognitive health. While cognitive and sociodemographic proxies have been commonly employed, there is a growing body of evidence urging the need for more objective and multidisciplinary assessment methods—including the promising use of neuroimaging and neurophysiological markers.

This Research Topic aims to propel forward the paradigm by integrating novel techniques that promise more valid and reproducible cognitive reserve assessments. The overarching goal is to enhance our understanding of cognitive reserve as a protective mechanism against cognitive decline. By adopting innovative neuropsychological testing, electroencephalography, neuroimaging, biomarker-based measures, and computational models, researchers can converge on more standardized methodologies. These will not only advance our comprehension of cognitive reserve but will also make cognitive assessments more clinically applicable. Such improvements are critical in refining our grasp of cognitive reserve's effect on aging, neurological disorders, and overall cognitive resilience.

To gather further insights into the comprehensive measurement of cognitive reserve, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
· Advancements in Cognitive Reserve Research: Neuropsychological and Neuroimaging Approaches
· Biomarkers and Computational Modeling in Cognitive Reserve Research
· Electroencephalography (EEG) and Neural Connectivity in Cognitive Reserve
· Clinical Applications of Cognitive Reserve Assessments
· Strengths, Limitations, and Future Directions in Cognitive Reserve Research

The primary focus will be on human studies involving mid to older adults. We encourage the submission of original research articles with cross-sectional, longitudinal, interventional, and secondary data use designs.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Cognitive reserve, brain maintenance, brain reserve, healthy aging, pathological aging, dementia, neuroimaging, neurophysiology, neuropsychological testing

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.