The document discusses measuring dendritic spine density as a potential measure of cognitive reserve. Most neuroprotective agents increase dendritic spine growth by different mechanisms, and their effectiveness can be assessed by their ability to increase spine density. Measuring spine density in cultured neurons from patients may provide insight into an individual's cognitive reserve. Recent studies have also found abnormal spine morphology or numbers in several neuropsychiatric disorders. New software like Imaris can automatically detect and measure spines across large datasets to study mechanisms regulating spine morphology. Patient-specific neurons obtained through induced pluripotent stem cells or transdifferentiation can have their spine density measured once they form networks, providing a method to study cognitive capacity.