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The idea that higher levels of education may delay the onset of Alzheimer disease (AD) stems from the repeated observation that some individuals have extensive Alzheimer pathology at the time of death but had no evidence during life of memory impairment or dementia (Ann Neurol 1999; 45:358 and Lancet Neurol 2006; 5:406). This finding has generated the theory of cognitive reserve, which implies that some individuals with higher levels of education can cognitively compensate for more brain damage than those without this reserve can. To test the theory of cognitive reserve, researchers prospectively evaluated 117 individuals (age range, 74–92 at baseline) who later developed dementia during annual follow-up examinations, out of a cohort of 488…