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The lifelong acquisition of cognitive skills shapes the biology of the brain. However, there are critical periods for the best use of the brain to process the acquired information.ObjectivesTo discuss the critical period of cognitive acquisition, the concept of cognitive reserve and the HAROLD (Hemispheric Asymmetry Reduction in Older adults) model.MethodsSeven women who learned how to read and to write after the age of 50 (ex-illiterates) and five women with 10 years of regular schooling (controls) were submitted to a language recognition test while brain activity was being recorded using magnetoencephalography. Spoken words were delivered binaurally via two plastic tubs terminating in ear inserts, and recordings were made with a whole head magnetometer consisting of 148 magnetometer coils.ResultsBoth groups performed similarly on the task of identifying target words. Analysis of the number of sources of activity in the left and right hemispheres revealed significant differences between the two groups, showing that ex-illiterate subjects exhibited less brain functional asymmetry during the language task.ConclusionsThese results should be interpreted with caution because the groups were small. However, these findings reinforce the concept that poorly educated subjects tend to use the brain for information processing in a different way to subjects with a high educational level or who were schooled at the regular time. Finally, the recruiting of both hemispheres to tackle the language recognition test occurred to a greater degree in the ex-illiterate group where this can be interpreted as a sign of difficulty performing the task.

Este estudio intenta examinar el poder predictivo que las estrategias cognitivas, los hábitos de estudio y el razonamiento abstracto tienen sobre el desempeño académico de estudiantes de nivel universitario. Para ello, se desarrolló un estudio de carácter descriptivo y correlacional, en el cual se seleccionó una muestra no probabilística y por conveniencia, integrada por 130 estudiantes del primer año de la Licenciatura en Administración de Empresas y de la carrera de Contador Público. El alumnado completó un cuestionario sociodemográfico diseñado en forma ex profeso, el Inventario de Estrategias de Aprendizaje y Hábitos de estudio en la versión adaptada para Argentina por Strucchi (1991) y la prueba de Razonamiento abstracto del DAT 5 de Bennett, Seashore y Wesman (1972). Los resultados obtenidos permitieron concluir que las subescalas Motivación para Tareas específicas y Ansiedad del primer cuestionario mencionado, y la prueba Razonamiento abstracto del segundo, predicen en forma significativa el desempeño académico de cada estudiante. El estudio aporta a las investigaciones acerca del desempeño académico y contribuye a expandir el conocimiento de las variables que lo influyen más fuertemente.