Cognitive Reserve as a Protective Variable Against Psychological Stress in Individuals With High Anxiety

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the interaction of cognitive reserve (CR) and state anxiety in adrenocortical and electrodermal responses. Thirty-nine healthy, middle-aged men completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Escala de Reserva Cognitiva (Cognitive Reserve Scale). Following this, they performed a cognitively demanding task adapted from the Trier Social Stress Test. Electrical skin conductance level and cortisol concentrations were recorded during the task. These measures were used as indicators of stress response. Our results seem to indicate that CR has a protective effect against cortisol responses in stressful situations. This effect was observed in participants who showed high CR and high state anxiety. At the same time, CR showed a positive correlation with "recovery to baseline conductance level" after the occurrence of stressful events. As a whole, these results suggest that having high CR could protect against the development of allostatic load. The regulatory system of physiological and endocrine activity would be more efficient in individuals with high scores in CR, thus avoiding the development of allostatic load.