In the face of an aging global population and the consequent rise in dementia cases, a recent study published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging offers hope in understanding and potentially mitigating cognitive decline. The research reveals that individuals with high levels of openness – a personality trait characterized by imagination, curiosity, and a wide range of interests – tend to have a stronger cognitive reserve.
This cognitive reserve can protect against the negative impacts of brain pathology, including conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. The study suggests promoting openness across the adult lifespan as a means to bolster this protective reserve.
The concept of cognitive reserve has emerged as a crucial area of study within neuroscience and psychology. It describes the brain’s resilience to neuropathological damage, explaining why some individuals maintain cognitive function despite significant brain aging or disease. With dementia predicted to almost triple globally within the next 30 years, understanding and enhancing cognitive reserve could be key to addressing this looming public health crisis.
“We know that some people are less susceptible to age-related pathological changes in the brain and therefore perform better on cognitive tasks than expected given their brain status. These individuals are said to have higher cognitive reserve,” explained study authors Annabell Coors (a postdoctoral researcher) and Yaakov Stern (the Florence Irving Professor of Neuropsychology), who are both affiliated with the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
“It is important to better understand what makes them different and what we can learn from them to help us age healthier. And we can also use this knowledge to identify individuals who are at increased risk of cognitive decline in the presence of brain pathology, and then develop interventions specifically targeted to them. We assumed that personality influences leisure behavior and may therefore be related to the level of cognitive reserve.”
The study included 399 individuals ranging in age from 19 to 80 years, with a slight majority being female. This wide age range allowed the researchers to examine the effects of personality traits across the adult lifespan. Each participant underwent a series of cognitive assessments designed to measure performance across four domains: fluid reasoning, vocabulary, memory, and perceptual speed.
To assess personality, the study used the 50-item Big Five Inventory. This assessment tool is widely recognized for its reliability in measuring the five major dimensions of personality: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
In parallel with these cognitive and personality assessments, the study incorporated advanced neuroimaging techniques to evaluate the participants’ brain health. This involved using MRI scans to measure cortical thickness and volume in specific regions of the brain associated with cognitive function.
The researchers observed a positive association between higher levels of openness and enhanced cognitive reserve. Openness was found to be beneficial across several cognitive domains, including fluid reasoning, vocabulary, and perceptual speed. Specifically, individuals with higher openness demonstrated better cognitive performance in these areas, even after controlling for the physical condition of their brains. This suggests that the trait of openness contributes to an individual’s ability to maintain cognitive functions despite the presence of brain pathologies, such as those seen in Alzheimer’s disease.
Interestingly, the protective effect of openness was particularly notable in the domain of perceptual speed. The study found that for individuals with high levels of openness, the status of their brain health was almost unrelated to changes in perceptual speed over time. In contrast, individuals with lower openness exhibited a more pronounced decline in this cognitive domain as their brain health deteriorated.
“The key message is that it is beneficial to be and remain open to experiences, as high openness helps counteract the negative effects of age-related brain pathology on cognition,” Coors and Stern told PsyPost.
While the protective effect of high openness was evident, the study did not find similar protective associations for other personality traits such as conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, or neuroticism. This specificity suggests that the mechanisms through which openness influences cognitive reserve may be unique and distinct from those of other personality traits.
“We expected high neuroticism (low emotional stability) to be detrimental and to underlie lower cognitive reserve, but we found no association between neuroticism and cognitive reserve,” Coors and Stern said. “We believe that some previous studies found this association because their study samples included individuals who already had or were about to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease may be a common underlying cause of both high neuroticism and low cognitive reserve, without high neuroticism and low cognitive reserve being directly related.”
The personality assessment focused on broad traits without delving into the subtleties of personality subfacets, which could offer more detailed insights into the relationship between personality and cognitive reserve. In addition, the study’s cross-sectional design limits the ability to infer causality between personality traits and cognitive outcomes.
“It would have been interesting to gain more detailed insights into which sub facets of openness are particularly relevant to cognitive reserve,” Coors and Stern explained. “However, we assessed each personality trait only with 10 items, which does not allow for a more detailed examination of the sub facets.”
By demonstrating that high openness is associated with a stronger cognitive reserve, the study suggests that interventions aimed at enhancing openness could play a role in preventing cognitive decline. This could be particularly beneficial for individuals at higher risk of dementia, offering a non-pharmacological approach to maintaining cognitive health.
“One of our major goals is to better understand how cognitive reserve is implemented in the brain, i.e., how brain organization differs between individuals with high and low cognitive reserve,” the researchers added.
“A person’s personality is not set in stone, and major life changes, such as marriage, divorce, or unemployment, have been found to be related to personality changes (e.g. Bühler et al., 2023, European Journal of Personality). Further, it has been found that openness often decreases in older age, which might be due to changes in the environment, such as retirement or less exposure to new and challenging contexts (e.g. Bleidorn et al., 2022, Psychological Bulletin). One strategy to prevent a decline in openness may be to engage in volunteer work or training in new skills and competencies (Mühlig-Versen et al., 2012, Psychology and Aging).”
The study, “Personality traits and cognitive reserve—High openness benefits cognition in the presence of age-related brain changes,” was authored by Annabell Coors, Seonjoo Lee, Christian Habeck, and Yaakov Stern.