Overview
- SuperAgers are defined as adults 80+ who score at least 9 of 15 on a delayed word recall test, performing on par with people decades younger.
- Authors describe two pathways linked to preserved memory: resistance to amyloid and tau accumulation or resilience in which these pathologies do not impair function.
- Structural imaging shows little cortical thinning in SuperAgers, with many displaying a thicker anterior cingulate cortex than younger adults.
- Post-mortem analyses report more von Economo neurons and larger entorhinal neurons than in age-matched peers, cellular traits tied to social processing and memory.
- Since 2000, the program has followed about 290 participants and examined 77 donated brains, and the team says these converging findings could inform future dementia-prevention strategies.