Also known as: lifelong learning, cognitive engagement, mental stimulation
Strongest in Recency (100). Held back by Sample size (42).
Solid mix of RCTs with some methodological gaps.
Good cross-study replication, some imprecision.
Hundreds of participants; meaningful but not large.
Mostly aligned, with some divergence.
Most studies are recent (last 2-3 years).
No per-outcome numbers yet for this one. Each finding's direction and strength is shown in the research below.
Areas where research points to a consistent direction of effect. The strength of evidence is graded; the size of the effect is not quantified.
Regular cognitive engagement through learning, reading, puzzles, or skill acquisition builds cognitive reserve and reduces dementia risk. Less education is one of the 14 modifiable dementia risk factors identified by the Lancet Commission.
In participants aged 70 years or older, no significant difference in FW trajectory was observed between the structured and self-guided interventions (β=0.019; SE=0.014; P=.18).
The exergame intervention significantly improved cognitive function as measured by scale-based cognitive assessments in older adults with cognitive impairment or dementia.
Across experimental fMRI data, dFC-based tracking of cognitive engagement was unreliable, with most method-experiment combinations performing near chance and no single dFC method succeeding across all contexts.
Chess players adapted more efficiently than controls when rules changed during a continuous learning task, indicating improved rule-guided flexibility.
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