<p>Possessing a good vocabulary could shield you from incipient dementia when age catches up with you, a study has found.<br /><br /></p>.<p>A wide vocabulary can help improve the brain's cognitive reserve - the name given to the brain's capacity to compensate for the loss of its functions.<br /><br />"A higher level of vocabulary, as a measure of cognitive reserve, can protect against cognitive impairment," the researchers said.<br /><br />"We focused on the level of vocabulary as it is considered an indicator of crystallised intelligence (the use of previously acquired intellectual skills)," said study co-author Cristina Lojo Seoane from the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.<br /><br />The cognitive reserve cannot be measured directly; rather, it is calculated through indicators believed to increase this capacity.<br /><br />The study involved 326 people over the age of 50 - 222 healthy individuals and 104 with mild cognitive impairment.<br /><br />They then measured their levels of vocabulary, along with other measures such as their years of schooling, the complexity of their jobs and their reading habits.<br /><br />The results revealed a greater prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in participants who achieved a lower vocabulary level score. The study appeared in the journal Anales de Psicologia (Annals of Psychology).</p>
<p>Possessing a good vocabulary could shield you from incipient dementia when age catches up with you, a study has found.<br /><br /></p>.<p>A wide vocabulary can help improve the brain's cognitive reserve - the name given to the brain's capacity to compensate for the loss of its functions.<br /><br />"A higher level of vocabulary, as a measure of cognitive reserve, can protect against cognitive impairment," the researchers said.<br /><br />"We focused on the level of vocabulary as it is considered an indicator of crystallised intelligence (the use of previously acquired intellectual skills)," said study co-author Cristina Lojo Seoane from the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.<br /><br />The cognitive reserve cannot be measured directly; rather, it is calculated through indicators believed to increase this capacity.<br /><br />The study involved 326 people over the age of 50 - 222 healthy individuals and 104 with mild cognitive impairment.<br /><br />They then measured their levels of vocabulary, along with other measures such as their years of schooling, the complexity of their jobs and their reading habits.<br /><br />The results revealed a greater prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in participants who achieved a lower vocabulary level score. The study appeared in the journal Anales de Psicologia (Annals of Psychology).</p>