August 12, 2025
Discover how “super-agers” combat memory aging.
Once individuals reach their eighties, it’s common to experience some degree of forgetfulness. However, a remarkable group of people—known as “super-agers”—seem to resist the usual effects of aging on memory, performing on memory tests as well as those three decades younger.
A recent study set out to understand what makes these super-agers different. Interestingly, their habits did not always match standard health guidelines. While some followed healthy diets, exercised, and got sufficient sleep, others smoked, consumed alcohol, avoided exercise, or lived stressful lives.
Despite these differences, there was one striking trait most of them shared: strong social relationships. Super-agers consistently rated their friendships and social ties more positively than their peers.
Published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the study followed 290 living super-agers—individuals aged 80 and older who excelled at a simple memory test. Participants listened to a list of 15 everyday words and, after a 30-minute pause, were asked to recall as many words as possible.
Typically, people in their eighties remember about five words. Super-agers, by contrast, recall nine or more, a score more commonly seen in people in their fifties or early sixties.
Super-agers were notable for rating their personal relationships more positively than their peers. They were also highly social, often scoring high on extroversion—characteristics such as being outgoing, sociable, and assertive.
This social engagement was mirrored in their brain biology. Examination of 77 super-ager brains revealed an unusually high number of Von Economo neurons, which are specialised cells associated with social interaction.
Furthermore, super-agers possessed a thicker anterior cingulate cortex than the average middle-aged adult. This region of the brain is crucial for empathy, emotional regulation, and motivation, especially in social contexts.
Unlike most older adults who experience a steady thinning of the brain’s cortex with age, super-agers showed much less cortical thinning. In some regions linked to social behaviour, their cortex was not only preserved but even thicker than what is typically seen in younger adults.
Sandra Weintraub, professor of psychiatry, behavioural sciences, and neurology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and leader of the study, emphasised the significance of the findings: “What we’ve discovered in their brains has been truly groundbreaking for us.
“Our research demonstrates that possessing exceptional memory in advanced age is not only attainable but is associated with a unique neurobiological profile. This paves the way for developing new interventions to help maintain brain health well into later life.”
It is important to note that these results do not suggest disregarding conventional health recommendations. Substantial evidence continues to support the role of healthy diet, regular exercise, sufficient sleep, and intellectual engagement in sustaining brain health.
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