Top Highlights

• Scientists are uncovering ways to acquire more cognitive reserve. Successful early brain development during childhood is critical. It provides a person with a greater number of neurons, more synapses (neural connections), and multiple pathways to perform any task. Such “reserve” comes in handy when a person is faced with the effects of brain aging.
• Socio-emotional and cognitive abilities work hand in hand in building brain resilience In addition to cognitive skills, socio-emotional abilities such as self-discipline, perseverance, adaptability, and working well with others are firmly rooted in successful childhood development. Cognitive and social-emotional skills are inextricably entwined in...
• a study in Germany found that middle-aged people who were employed in occupations requiring high motivational abilities had a 35% lower risk of developing mild cognitive impairment by age 75 and above, regardless of their intelligence, education, and other job-related abilities in mid-life.
• “Many adult diseases are, in fact, developmental disorders that begin early in life.”
• In another study of 65-year-olds in the United States, those with a high level of conscientiousness (the personality trait linked to being organized, careful, and goal-oriented) had an 89% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease 12 years later.

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