Abstract
The article presents a review of literature sources on empiric evidence of the hypothesis of the reserve of brain. Researches of structure peculiarities, mechanisms of functioning, and changes in the reserve of brain allow us to explain why some persons have been operating more effectively during their ageing, as compared with their peers, and why some patients are possible to cope with a higher number of brain pathological changes without cognitive of functional declines, as compared with other patients who have the same brain pathologies. During recent years, a sufficient amount of evidence has been received to support an ability of brain and cognitive reserves to influence on the brain ageing, clinical progress, course of treatment, effectiveness of rehabilitation, levels of recovery, and outcomes in neurodegenerative pathologies, acute conditions (brain stroke, brain injury), mental health disorders. The consideration of individual brain differences, which promote coping with and compensation of pathological changes, can enable to predict and timely diagnose an onset of the cognitive decline, to improve results of rehabilitation and prevention of cognitive impairments and dementia by means of proxy-variables of the life experience.
Publisher
Public Organization Association of Neurologists, Psychiatrists and Narcologists of Ukraine