TY - JOUR
T1 - Relationships Between Enriching Early-Life Experiences and Cognitive Function Later in Life Are Mediated by Educational Attainment
AU - Morris, Timothy P.
AU - Ai, Meishan
AU - Chaddock-Heyman, Laura
AU - Mcauley, Edward
AU - Hillman, Charles H.
AU - Kramer, Arthur F.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health (R37 AG025667).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - The study of how engagement in enriching cognitive, physical, and social activities in childhood impacts cognitive function decades later will advance our understanding of how modifiable lifestyle activities promote cognition across the lifespan. Eighty-eight healthy older adults (aged 60–80 years) returned a retrospective questionnaire regarding their participation in seven lifestyle activities (musical instrument playing, language learning, sports participation, art/dance lessons, scouting, volunteering, family vacations) before age 13 years. After controlling for current age, educational attainment, socioeconomic status of the mother, and current engagement in lifestyle activities, a greater number of activities were significantly associated with better vocabulary abilities, episodic memory, and fluid intelligence. The relationships with vocabulary and fluid intelligence were mediated by educational attainment. We postulate that engagement in a higher number of enriching early-life activities is a reflection of both one’s sociocontextual environment and engagement with that environment. This engagement leads to attributes relevant for educational aspirations/attainment, ultimately contributing to factors that have a lifespan impact on cognitive function.
AB - The study of how engagement in enriching cognitive, physical, and social activities in childhood impacts cognitive function decades later will advance our understanding of how modifiable lifestyle activities promote cognition across the lifespan. Eighty-eight healthy older adults (aged 60–80 years) returned a retrospective questionnaire regarding their participation in seven lifestyle activities (musical instrument playing, language learning, sports participation, art/dance lessons, scouting, volunteering, family vacations) before age 13 years. After controlling for current age, educational attainment, socioeconomic status of the mother, and current engagement in lifestyle activities, a greater number of activities were significantly associated with better vocabulary abilities, episodic memory, and fluid intelligence. The relationships with vocabulary and fluid intelligence were mediated by educational attainment. We postulate that engagement in a higher number of enriching early-life activities is a reflection of both one’s sociocontextual environment and engagement with that environment. This engagement leads to attributes relevant for educational aspirations/attainment, ultimately contributing to factors that have a lifespan impact on cognitive function.
KW - Executive function
KW - Plasticity
KW - Life-course and developmental change
KW - Mediation analysis
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U2 - 10.1007/s41465-021-00208-5
DO - 10.1007/s41465-021-00208-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 35005424
SN - 2509-3290
VL - 5
SP - 449
EP - 458
JO - Journal of Cognitive Enhancement
JF - Journal of Cognitive Enhancement
IS - 4
ER -