The relationship between cognitive and social leisure activities across the lifespan and neural markers for brain health: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Background: Cognitive and social leisure activities (CA/SA) as well as social network size (SNS) have been associated with performance on cognitive tasks and lower dementia risk. However, the neural mechanisms behind these associations remain unclear.Therefore, this systematic literature review aims at summarizing the available evidence on these associations across the adult lifespan.Method: MEDLINE, PsychINFO, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library of Controlled Trials were searched for potential publications until January 2021. Eligible studies included those with cognitively normal individuals older than 18 years, and assessed the direct association between CA/SA or SNS and brain structure. CA/SA were defined as those cognitively and/or socially stimulating activities being performed for the sake of pleasure. Eligible outcome measures included magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of macro (grey/white matter volumes) and micro (diffusion tensor imaging) structure, or computerized tomography (CT). Both observational and (quasi)experimental designs were included. Study-quality was assessed using the NIH tool for study quality appraisal and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A full protocol is available in PROSPERO (CRD42020193278).Result: 6115 unique abstracts were identified and screened by two independent raters. Sixty-six full-text articles were retained for further appraisal, of which thirtyfive (0.6%) were included for qualitative analysis. Of those, 20 cross-sectional, 4 cohort and 3 experimental studies investigated the association between CA/SA and brain structure. Eight cross-sectional studies investigated the relationship between social network size and brain structure. All studies included in this review used structural MRI (3 used DTI) as outcome measure. In the majority of studies, CA/SA and SNS showed associations with structural brain MRI markers. Detailed results of this ongoing review and possible meta-analysis will be presented. Conclusion:CA and SA are associated with structural MRI markers.

Long-term environmental enrichment is associated with better fornix microstructure in older adults

“…Our results align with and extend findings from previous review and meta-analytical studies reporting small and inconsistent effects of leisure activities on WM microstructure ( Sexton et al, 2016 ; Anatürk et al, 2018 ; Duffner et al, 2023 ). One possible explanation for the selective sensitivity of the fornix, as observed in our study, may be that this major output tract of the hippocampus appears to be highly susceptible to aging processes ( Zhuang et al, 2012 ; Hayek et al, 2020 ) and environmental challenges.…”

Association between loneliness and cognitive function, and brain volume in community-dwelling elderly

“…While empirical studies on loneliness and cognitive function have shown relatively consistent results, the relationship between loneliness and brain volume remains subject to debate, with varying findings across studies (Duffner et al, 2023). Examining previous research results, a study using Framingham study data (Salinas et al, 2022) found a statistically significant decrease in total brain volume (TBV) and WMH in individuals experiencing loneliness.…”

Deciphering the Influence of Socioeconomic Status on Brain Structure: Insights from Mendelian Randomization

“…This is consistent with the idea that the general factor of SES captures a constellation of risk from multiple genetically influenced traits and higher levels of SES are not protective solely due to them capturing differences in cognitive ability 10,11 . These traits could be social health factors 43 or aspects of personality linked to health, such as conscientiousness, which is phenotypically linked with lower instance of disease 44 and greater longevity 45 and shows genetic correlations with mental health traits such as MDD, ADHD, and schizophrenia 46 . Previous work examining educational attainment, an indicator of SES, identified that differences in wellbeing, health, and personality have been shown to make a contribution to the heritability of educational attainment that is independent from cognitive ability 10 .…”