Why the cognitive "fountain of youth" may be upstream: Pathways to dementia risk and resilience through social connectedness.

ABSTRACT: Research suggests social connectedness may help older adults with dementia maintain cognitive functionality and quality of life. However, little is known about its specific social and biological mechanisms. This paper proposes two pathways through social bridging (i.e., cognitive enrichment through expansive social networks) and bonding (i.e., neuroendocrine benefits of integration in cohesive social networks). We provide preliminary evidence for these pathways using neuroimaging, cognitive, and egocentric social network data from the Social Networks and Alzheimer's Disease (SNAD) study (N = 280). We found that network size, density, and presence of weak ties (i.e., social bridging) moderated the association between brain atrophy and cognitive function, while marriage/cohabitation (i.e., s

SUBMITTER: Perry BL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8897512 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature