Scientists have found an exciting new clue about how ‘super-agers’ stay sharp as they age
After previous research on ‘super-agers’ found differences in the size of areas of their brains, a new study says there are also differences in their social networks
By Erin Brodwin
So much for not being able to teach an old dog new tricks.
Some older people can remember things just as well as peers who are nearly half their age. Scientists are calling them “super-agers” for their unique ability to stay sharp into old age
Several months ago, researchers discovered at least one physical basis for these differences that has to do with the thickness of the outer layer of the super-agers’ brains.
But in a small study published in October in the journal PLOS One, researchers took a look at whether there was a social side to these differences as well. Sure enough, after studying 31 super-agers over age 80 as well as 19 cognitively average people of the same age, the scientists found that the super-agers tended to have significantly more satisfying, high-quality relationships than their normal peers.
“You don’t have the be the life of the party, but this study supports the theory that maintaining strong social networks seems to be linked to slower cognitive decline,” said Emily Rogalski, an associate professor of cognitive neurology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine and the lead author of the study, in a statement.
To arrive at their results, the researchers had all of the study participants complete a standard questionnaire designed to assess their general happiness and level of life satisfaction. Despite getting similar scores overall on the questionnaire compared to their peers, the super-agers stood out in terms of how they evaluated their friendships with others.