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55/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Disease mechanisms

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Plain-language summary

The idea of reserve against brain damage stems from the repeated observation that there does not appear to be a direct relationship between the degree of brain pathology or brain damage and the clinical manifestation of that damage. This paper attempts to develop a coherent theoretical account of reserve. One convenient subdivision of reserve models revolves around whether they envision reserve as a passive process, such as in brain reserve or threshold, or see the brain as actively attempting to cope with or compensate for pathology, as in cognitive reserve. Cognitive reserve may be based on more efficient utilization of brain networks or of enhanced ability to recruit alternate brain networks as needed. A distinction is suggested between reserve, the ability to optimize or maximize normal performance, and compensation, an attempt to maximize performance in the face of brain damage by using brain structures or networks not engaged when the brain is not damaged. Epidemiologic and imaging data that help to develop and support the concept of reserve are presented.

What this study adds

Evidence grade: Not rated

Lays out a theory of reserve, built on the observation that the amount of brain damage does not map directly onto how much it shows up in symptoms. It separates passive models such as brain reserve from cognitive reserve, where the brain actively copes with or compensates for damage, and presents epidemiologic and imaging data that support the idea.

Taken from this record’s own fields, not from reading the paper. The grade is assigned from the abstract’s wording; what that means.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Stern, Y. (2002). What is cognitive reserve? Theory and research application of the reserve concept. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355617702813248

Vancouver

Stern Y. What is cognitive reserve? Theory and research application of the reserve concept. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. 2002. doi:10.1017/s1355617702813248. PMID: 11939702.

BibTeX

@article{stern2002-11939702,
  author  = {Stern, Yaakov},
  title   = {{What is cognitive reserve? Theory and research application of the reserve concept}},
  journal = {Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society},
  year    = {2002},
  doi     = {10.1017/s1355617702813248},
  pmid    = {11939702},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355617702813248}
}

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

Why it matters

How this study scored 55/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on strength of evidence, so that was left out: it earned 52 of the 95 points we could judge it on, which is 55 out of 100.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society: journal h-index 176 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	0 / 12	No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Strength of evidence	— / 5	No evidence rating recorded — left out of this score
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	2002 — older than 20 years, still counted
Sample size	0 / 4	Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	0 / 3	Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	7 / 7	Cited 3,963 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	5 / 5	152.4 citations a year over 26 year(s) since 2002
Impact for its field and year	5 / 6	Cited 23.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	0 / 6	No other study in this library cites it
Still being cited	4 / 4	Cited 716 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Yaakov Stern: h-index 162 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	Columbia University: institution h-index 1,824 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 11939702)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Points	52 / 95	Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 52 of the 95 points we could judge it on is 55 out of 100.
Total	55 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

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