Published on April 25, 2014 at 3:05 AM
The study examined people with moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries, most of which were from motor vehicle accidents or falls. All were taken to the emergency department and spent time in the hospital after the injury and also for inpatient rehabilitation.
"After these types of injuries, some people are disabled for life and are never able to go back to work, while other people who have similar injuries recover fully," said study author Eric B. Schneider, PhD, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md., and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "We understand some factors that lead to these differences, but we can't explain all of the variation. These results may provide another piece of the puzzle."
The cognitive reserve theory is that people with more education have a greater cognitive reserve, or the brain's ability to maintain function in spite of damage. The concept has emerged for brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, where people with higher levels of education have been shown to have fewer symptoms of the disease than people with less education, even when they have the same amount of damage in the brain from the disease. But few studies have looked at how cognitive reserve may affect traumatic brain injury.
The study involved 769 people at least 23 years old and who had been followed for at least a year after their injury. Participants were grouped by education level. A total of 185 participants, or 24 percent, did not finish high school; 390, or 51 percent, had 12 to 15 years of education, or had finished high school and some post-secondary education; and 194, or 25 percent, had obtained at least an undergraduate degree, or had 16 or more years of education.
"After these types of injuries, some people are disabled for life and are never able to go back to work, while other people who have similar injuries recover fully," said study author Eric B. Schneider, PhD, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md., and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "We understand some factors that lead to these differences, but we can't explain all of the variation. These results may provide another piece of the puzzle."
The cognitive reserve theory is that people with more education have a greater cognitive reserve, or the brain's ability to maintain function in spite of damage. The concept has emerged for brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, where people with higher levels of education have been shown to have fewer symptoms of the disease than people with less education, even when they have the same amount of damage in the brain from the disease. But few studies have looked at how cognitive reserve may affect traumatic brain injury.
The study involved 769 people at least 23 years old and who had been followed for at least a year after their injury. Participants were grouped by education level. A total of 185 participants, or 24 percent, did not finish high school; 390, or 51 percent, had 12 to 15 years of education, or had finished high school and some post-secondary education; and 194, or 25 percent, had obtained at least an undergraduate degree, or had 16 or more years of education.
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