The DOI matches its Crossref record; 36 of the 36 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Early life linguistic ability, late life cognitive function, and neuropathology: findings from the Nun Study
Abstract
The relationships between early life variables, cognitive function, and neuropathology were examined in participants in the Nun Study who were between the ages of 75 and 95. Our early life variable was idea density, which is a measure of linguistic ability, derived from autobiographies written at a mean age of 22 years. Six discrete categories of cognitive function, including mild cognitive impairments, were evaluated, using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) battery of cognitive tests. Neuropathologic data included Braak staging, neurofibrillary tangle and senile plaque counts, brain weight, degree of cerebral atrophy, severity of atherosclerosis, and the presence of brain infarcts. Early-life idea density was significantly related to the categories of late-life cognitive function, including mild cognitive impairments: low idea density was associated with greater impairment. Low idea density also was significantly associated with lower brain weight, higher degree of cerebral atrophy, more severe neurofibrillary pathology, and the likelihood of meeting neuropathologic criteria for Alzheimer's disease.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“several studies have revealed the existence of aged individuals harboring a high burden of brain lesions at autopsy while remaining cognitively intact, indicating resilience to AD pathology [3, 7, 21, 22, 56, 57, 68, 76, 78, 96].”
From Enhanced microglial dynamics and a paucity of tau seeding in the amyloid plaque microenvironment contribute to cognitive resilience in Alzheimer’s disease (2024) · cites this paper as [78]
Citations
Cites
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E., & McHugh, P. R. (1975) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3956(75)90026-6 · Cited by 88,282
Neuropathological stageing of Alzheimer-related changes.
Braak, H., & Braak, E. (1991) · Acta Neuropathologica · doi:10.1007/bf00308809 · Cited by 16,123
Current concepts in mild cognitive impairment
Petersen, R. C., Doody, R., Kurz, A., Mohs, R. C., Morris, J. C., Rabins, P. V., Ritchie, K., Rossor, M., Thal, L., & Winblad, B. (2001) · Archives of Neurology · doi:10.1001/archneur.58.12.1985 · Cited by 4,781
Kaplan, E., Goodglass, H., Weıntraub, S., & Segal, O. (2001) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 4,378
A new rating scale for Alzheimer's disease
(1984) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.141.11.1356 · Cited by 4,175
Moms, J. C., Heyman, A., Mohs, R. C., Hughes, J. P., van Belle, G., Fillenbaum, G., Mellits, E. D., & Clark, C. (1989) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.39.9.1159 · Cited by 4,130
Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD)
Fillenbaum, G., & Heyman, A. (2002) · doi:10.1002/0470846410.ch42(iii · Cited by 2,859
Brain Infarction and the Clinical Expression of Alzheimer Disease<subtitle>The Nun Study</subtitle>
Snowdon, D. A. (1997) · JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association · doi:10.1001/jama.1997.03540340047031 · Cited by 1,590
Self-citationPositive emotions in early life and longevity: Findings from the nun study.
Danner, D. D., Snowdon, D. A., & Friesen, W. V. (2001) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.80.5.804 · Cited by 1,406
Self-citationBorkowski, J. G., Benton, A. L., & Spreen, O. (1967) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(67)90015-2 · Cited by 1,324
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Snowdon, 1997, Brain infarction and the clinical expression of Alzheimer disease: the Nun Study, JAMA, 277, 813, 10.1001/jama.277.10.813 · DOI · Paper page
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 201–300 of 302
Text and Team: What Article Metadata Characteristics Drive Citations in Software Engineering?
Graf‐Vlachy, L., Graziotin, D., & Wagner, S. (2022) · International Conference on Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering (EASE) · doi:10.1145/3530019.3530022 · Cited by 5
Wang, Y., Sharrett, A. R., Schneider, A. L. C., Knopman, D. S., Hu, J., Gottesman, R. F., Sullivan, K., & Coresh, J. (2023) · Neuroepidemiology · doi:10.1159/000533851 · Cited by 3
Age Matters: The cognitive strategies and benefits of learning among college-degreed older adults
Campbell, B. (2015) · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · Cited by 3
Automated Discourse Analysis of Narrations by Adolescents with Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Regneri, M., & King, D. (2016) · Workshop on Cognitive Aspects of Computational Language Learning (CogACLL) · doi:10.18653/v1/w16-1901 · Cited by 3
Ashraf, F., Nusrat, A., & Mehboob, D. (2019) · Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.33824/pjpr.2019.34.2.21 · Cited by 3
Alzheimer’s Disease: Causes, Mechanisms, and Steps Toward Prevention
Choi, S. H., & Tanzi, R. E. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190069162.013.18 · Cited by 3
Assessing Statistical Applications in Publications on Alzheimer’s Disease
Xiong, C., Tang, Y., van Belle, G., Miller, J. P., Launer, L. J., Bergmann, K. R., & Morris, J. C. (2007) · Neuroepidemiology · doi:10.1159/000108598 · Cited by 3
Gow, A. J. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-287-080-3_261-1 · Cited by 3
Jury-Garfe, N., You, Y.-W., Martínez, P., Redding-Ochoa, J., Karahan, H., Johnson, T., Zhang, J., Kim, J., Troncoso, J., & Lasagna-Reeves, C. A. (2023) · bioRxiv · doi:10.1101/2023.07.27.550884 · Cited by 2
Abbate, C., & Gallucci, A. (2025) · Journal of Alzheimer s Disease · doi:10.1177/13872877251374319 · Cited by 2
Zhang, H., Chiu, P. W., Ip, I. N., Liu, T., Wong, G. H. Y., Song, Y., Wong, S. W. H., Herrup, K., & Mak, H. K. (2021) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1111/ejn.15399 · Cited by 1
Forstmeier, S., & Maercker, A. R. A. (2009) · Zeitschrift für Neuropsychologie · doi:10.1024/1016-264x.20.1.47 · Cited by 2
Practical management of Alzheimer's dementia.
Burock, J., & Naqvi, L. (2014) · PubMed · Cited by 2
Park, H., Chey, J., & Lee, J. (2017) · Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders · doi:10.12779/dnd.2017.16.1.20 · Cited by 3
Spanswick, S. C. (2010) · Open ULeth Scholarship (OPUS) (University of Lethbridge) · Cited by 2
Cognitive and social activities and long-term dementia risk
Friedland, R. P. (2021) · The Lancet Public Health · doi:10.1016/s2468-2667(21)00071-2 · Cited by 2
Barsoum, S., Latimer, C. S., Nolan, A., Barrett, A., Chang, K., Troncoso, J. C., Keene, C. D., & Benjamini, D. (2024) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2024.05.06.592719 · Cited by 2
Demenz aus psychologischer Sicht
Gatterer, G. (2008) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-211-78390-0_9 · Cited by 2
The Role of Memory in Communication
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.003.0003 · Cited by 2
Mudar, R. A., Hadley, P. A., Baby, E., & Mahendra, N. (2026) · Topics in Language Disorders · doi:10.1097/tld.0000000000000390 · Cited by 1
Advances in Alzheimer’s Disease Management
Gauthier, S. G., & Rosa‐Neto, P. (2012) · doi:10.2217/9781780840840 · Cited by 1
Cognitive Reserve: A Life-Course Perspective
Dekhtyar, S., & Wang, H. (2017) · Contemporary clinical neuroscience · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-52067-4_5 · Cited by 1
Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Dementia
Russ, T. C., Ritchie, C. W., & Ritchie, K. A. (2016) · Mental health and illness worldwide · doi:10.1007/978-981-10-0370-7_23-1 · Cited by 1
Making Sense of Neurodegeneration: A Unifying Hypothesis
Halliwell, B. B. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-90659-1_13 · Cited by 1
The death of Gregory Bateson, or why linguists should study language at the end of life
Erard, M. (2021) · Language & Communication · doi:10.1016/j.langcom.2021.06.003 · Cited by 1
Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Dementia
Russ, T. C., Ritchie, C. W., & Ritchie, K. A. (2017) · Mental health and illness worldwide · doi:10.1007/978-981-10-2414-6_23 · Cited by 1
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.003.0008 · Cited by 1
Cognitive Reserve: A Life-Course Perspective
Wang, R., Dekhtyar, S., & Wang, H. (2023) · Contemporary clinical neuroscience · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-24930-3_5 · Cited by 2
Che, Y., & Huang, L. (2025) · Aphasiology · doi:10.1080/02687038.2025.2510323 · Cited by 1
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Mild Cognitive Impairment as Risk Factors for Progression to Dementia
Martinez, D. A. P. (2016) · Journal of Neurology and Neuroscience · doi:10.21767/2171-6625.100001 · Cited by 1
A ESCRITA: uma prática movida pela busca da melhor adequação da execução à intenção
Pinto, M. D. G. L. C. (2018) · Revista Observatório · doi:10.20873/uft.2447-4266.2018v4n4p763 · Cited by 1
Erard, M. (2021) · OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying · doi:10.1177/00302228211000938 · Cited by 1
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.003.0007 · Cited by 1
Cognitive Disorders: Outcomes After Intensive Care
Verny, M., Greffard, S., & Thietart, S. (2022) · Lessons from the ICU · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-94133-8_26 · Cited by 1
McCain, M. N., Mustard, J. F., & Shanker, S. G. (2007) · Cited by 1
Recovery of function after lesions of the anterior thalamic nuclei: CA1 neuromorphology
Harland, B. C. (2013) · doi:10.26021/5935 · Cited by 1
Palmer, B. W. (2016) · American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2016.07.010 · Cited by 1
New Clues to Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease
Rosenberg, P. B., & Lyketsos, C. G. (2018) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.18010048 · Cited by 1
Dunn, L. B., & Predescu, I. (2018) · American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2018.10.002 · Cited by 1
Neurocognition and HRQOL Assessment
Barofsky, I. (2011) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-9819-4_10 · Cited by 1
ALTERATIONS OF ZINC TRANSPORTERS IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
Ganna Lyubartseva, A. (2009) · UKnowledge (University of Kentucky)
Cholerton, B., Skinner, J. S., & Baker, L. D. (2014) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118730676.ch28
Brain Reserve Regulators in Alzheimer’s Disease
Delalle, I. (2013) · InTech eBooks · doi:10.5772/53658
Castro, A. S. (2011) · Gredos (University of Salamanca) · doi:10.14201/gredos.110826
Poon, H. F. (2005) · UKnowledge (University of Kentucky)
Desempenho de sujeitos com comprometimento cognitivo leve em tarefas de compressão textual
Romero, V. U. (2013) · Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (Universidade de São Paulo) · doi:10.11606/d.5.2013.tde-05022014-105314
COGNITIVE FUNCTION: Authors' response
Slade, G. D., & Naorungroj, S. (2014) · The Journal of the American Dental Association · doi:10.1016/s0002-8177(14)60003-9
Laske, C. (2007) · Zeitschrift für Gerontopsychologie & -psychiatrie · doi:10.1024/1011-6877.20.1.59
A prática da escrita-composição: um investimento para a vida
Pinto, M. D. G. C. (2014) · Americanae (AECID Library)
L�afectaci� del llenguatge en la malaltia d�Alzheimer
Rodríguez-Ferreiro, J., Coll-Florit, M., Andreu, L., & Sanz-Torrent, M. (2012) · Llengua societat i comunicació · doi:10.1344/lsc-2012.10.6
Balthazar, J. (2013) · Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (Universidade de São Paulo) · doi:10.11606/d.42.2013.tde-26092013-111146
Ijaz, M. (2015) · UWSpace (University of Waterloo)
Tuovinen, S. (2014) · Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja
Morrison, J. (2015) · UWSpace (University of Waterloo)
ESTIMULACIÓN COGNITIVA: UNA REVISIÓN NEUROPSICOLÓGICA
de Psicología, F. (2014) · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja)
Current awareness in geriatric psychiatry
Gillies, B. (1994) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.930090415
Hatfield, B. D. (2012) · Kinesiology Review · doi:10.1123/krj.1.1.46
Forestalling Age-Related Brain Disorders
Mattson, M. P. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-24687-1_27
Thow, M. (2015) · UTAS Research Repository · doi:10.25959/23240606
Mackinley, M. (2017) · UWSpace (University of Waterloo)
Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
Rosa‐Neto, P., Rowley, J., Leuzy, A., Mohades, S., Shin, M., Dauar, M. T., & Gauthier, S. G. (2012) · doi:10.2217/ebo.12.66
Aging, cognitive ability and the risk of dementia in the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study
Rantalainen, V. (2019) · Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja
The Neural Basis of Idea Density During Natural Spoken Language
Nagels, A., Luell, S., Friederich, L., Straube, B., Grosvald, M., & Hansen‐Schirra, S. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-26578-6_13
An Agenda for Improving Communication in the Dementia Context
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.003.0011
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.003.0010
The Biological Determinants of Dementia Communication
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.003.0002
Drivers of Disrupted Communication
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.003.0009
The Challenges of Communication in the Dementia Context
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.003.0001
The Experience of Dementia Communication
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.003.0005
Approaches to Effective Communication in Care
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.003.0006
Jessiman, L. J., Murray, G., & Braley, M. (2018)
Gruschus, J. M. (2021) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-85707-9.00007-1
A linguagem ao longo da vida : que implicações de que gramática em que momento?
Pinto, M. D. G. L. C. (2010) · Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT)
Current awareness in geriatric psychiatry
(2005) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.1227
Butler, R., & Sembhi, S. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108593946.002
Butler, R., & Katona, C. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108593946.001
Drago, F., & Caraci, F. (2012) · Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature · doi:10.3410/f.720632832.792003116
Knight, E. B., & Lee, E. L. (2008) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781444305258.refs
Gow, A. J. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-287-082-7_261
Deep discourse analysis for early prediction of multi-type dementia
Alkenani, A. H. (2023) · Queensland University of Technology · doi:10.5204/thesis.eprints.240368
Imre, N. (2023) · SZTE Repository of Dissertations (University of Szeged) · doi:10.14232/phd.11496
de Ávila, C., Suazo, C., Nolz, J., Cochran, J. N., Wang, Q., Velázquez, R., Dammer, E. B., Readhead, B., & Mastroeni, D. (2023) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2023.08.14.553279
Schneider, C. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-46483-6_2
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.002.0003
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.002.0005
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.002.0007
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.002.0008
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.002.0009
Wray, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190917807.002.0006
Kumar, S., Amaral, A. C. S., Agüero, C., Klein, C. Z., Chong, M. S. T., Ramanan, P., Scapellato, M., Sinha, R., Schneider, J. A., Bennett, D., et al. (2025) · medRxiv · doi:10.64898/2025.12.15.25341752
Subjective Cognitive Impairment in Major Depressive Disorder: Predictors and Clinical Outcomes
Çankaya, Ş., & Yuluğ, B. (2025) · Acta Medica Alanya · doi:10.30565/medalanya.1766220
Ubuka, T., Yuyama, K., Genjima, A., Nagakura, M., Kato, K., Hayashi, S., Makino, N., Yamane, T., Hirose, T., & Yamane, Y. (2026) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2026.1769431
Duboisdindien, G. (2019) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/6821648cz8e25z4ee6zb599z489e8dc89766
Alzheimer’s disease : epistemology, ethics, innovation
Daly, T. P. (2021) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/6e99838az7dd4z402fz98fdzeca072d3ad13
Longitudinale Veränderungen der Sprachsemantik
Nenchev, I., Schoofs, N., Jährling, L., Lohse, A., & Stötzner, P. (2026) · Nervenheilkunde · doi:10.1055/a-2773-7624
Metadata
- Authors
- Riley, K. P., Snowdon, D. A., Desrosiers, M. F., & Markesbery, W. R.
- Affiliations
- University of Kentucky (US)
- Corresponding author
- Riley, Kathryn P.
- ORCID
- Snowdon, David A.
- Venue
- Neurobiology of Aging
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2005-03
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 341-347
- ISSN
- 0197-4580 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1980794267
- Cited by
- 303
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 6.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Neurobiology of Aging (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG009862)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- idea density, late-life cognitive function, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease pathology, neurofibrillary tangles, amyloid plaques, Braak staging, brain atrophy, brain weight, atherosclerosis, cerebral infarction, Nun Study
- MeSH terms
- Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Alzheimer Disease, Autopsy, Brain, Cognition, Cognition Disorders, Female, Humans, Language Development, Linguistics, Longitudinal Studies, Neuropsychological Tests, Predictive Value of Tests, Risk Factors, Vocabulary, Writing, Neurofibrillary Tangles
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review