Publication Abstract Display
Type: Published Abstract
Title: Cognitive reserve and prospective memory in HIV infection.
Authors: Weber E, Woods SP, Weisz B, Grant I, and the HNRC Group
Year: 2010
Publication: Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
Volume: 16 Issue: S1 Pages: 27-28
Abstract:Cognitive reserve is a protective factor against neurocognitive decline in a number of clinical conditions (e.g., dementia). While a few studies have demonstrated that low cognitive reserve is associated with an increased risk of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders, none have examined its specific impact on prospective memory (ProM) in HIV. ProM (i.e., remembering to remember) is a dissociable aspect of episodic memory that is highly predictive of functional outcomes (e.g., adherence) in HIV. The present study evaluated the hypothesis that low cognitive reserve is associated with poor ProM performance (as measured by the Memory for Intentions Screening Test [MIST]) in a sample of 162 HIV-infected individuals. Cognitive reserve was operationalized as an average of population-based z-scores (CRZ) for premorbid verbal IQ (Wechsler Test of Adult Reading) and a combined rating of educational and occupational attainment (Hollingshead Two-Factor Index), and divided into tertiles (i.e., low, medium, high). Kruskal-Wallis and follow-up Wilcoxon Rank-Sum analyses indicated that low CRZ individuals had significantly lower MIST scores than high CRZ individuals (p<0.004; Cohens d=0.53), as driven by the MIST time-based index (p<0.002); a follow-up regression analysis confirmed that lower CRZ remained an independent predictor for MIST performance when considered alongside potential confounding demographic (e.g., age), psychiatric (e.g., substance dependence), and medical (e.g., nadir CD4) factors. While these data suggest that low cognitive reserve may be a risk factor for HIV-associated ProM impairment, future studies that incorporate longitudinal designs and biomarkers of cognitive reserve (e.g., neuroimaging) are needed.

return to publications listing