SuperAgers have SuperBrains

            There is no denying that with aging comes a decline in memory and cognitive function. Unfortunately it is an inevitable aspect to growing old. Not all hope is lost though! Just take a look at SuperAgers. These are a group of elderly adults 80 years and older with memory capabilities as a strong as healthy 50 to 70 year olds! What is it though that gives these SuperAgers such efficient aging? Scientists have been questioning this and have made some remarkable findings.

            Lars Nyberg and colleagues from Umea University in Sweden claim that it is what you do at old age which ultimately dictates how one ages. According to the Science daily article, “Maintain your brain: the secrets to aging success,” “engagement is the secret to success. Those who are socially, mentally and physically stimulated reliably show greater cognitive performance with a brain that appears younger than its years.” Nyberg continues to state that staying physically and mentally active is a way to maintaining a healthy brain in aging.

            So can one simply train their brain in old age to keep it healthy? Gefen et al. from Northwestern University have research on these mystifying SuperAgers. They discovered that SuperAgers actually have a much thicker dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) – a part of the brain important for many cognitive functions. They also noticed that SuperAgers had a much larger ratio of specifically von Economo sensory neurons in the dorsal ACC.

            This leads me to question of how do these SuperAgers gain their super memory powers? That is, how do they have such thicker dorsal ACCs. Looking at the research from Nyberg et al., one could predict that exercising your brain at old age could be the reason for the thicker brain region in SuperAgers. If this is the case, an explanation can finally be given to how to retain strong memory abilities at old age!