Background: Engagement in cognitive leisure activities during early adulthood has been linked to preserved memory and larger hippocampal volume in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Objective: To investigate which specific types of cognitive leisure activities contribute to hippocampal volume and memory.
Methods: We investigated links between three types of cognitive activities (Reading-Writing, Art-Music, Games-Hobbies) and (a) hippocampal volume within independent samples of Italian (n=187) and American (n=55) MS patients and (b) memory in subsamples of Italian (n=97) and American (n=53) patients.
Results: Reading-Writing was the only predictor of hippocampal volume (rp=.204, p=.002), and the best predictor of memory (rp=.288, p=.001).
Conclusions: Findings inform the development of targeted evidence-based enrichment programs aiming to bolster reserve against memory decline.
Keywords: Multiple sclerosis; cognitive reserve; enriched environments; hippocampal volume; neurogenesis.
© The Author(s), 2016.