Examining the Brains of Those With Exceptional Memory Function in Old Age

Some people have exceptional memory function in old age, showing far less deterioration than their peers. Researchers here look for differences in the brains of these individuals. The most actionable of the items discovered so far is the level of metabolic waste in the form of neurofibillary tangles. A range of research groups are presently working on ways to clear these tangles in connection with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions, but any resulting practical treatment should clearly be applied to everyone on a regular basis:

SuperAgers, aged 80 and above, have distinctly different looking brains than those of normal older people. SuperAgers have memories that are as sharp as those of healthy persons decades younger. An analysis of the SuperAger brains after death show the following brain signature:

1) MRI imaging showed the anterior cingulate cortex of SuperAgers (31 subjects) was not only significantly thicker than the same area in aged individuals with normal cognitive performance (21 subjects), but also larger than the same area in a group of much younger, middle-aged individuals (ages 50 to 60, 18 subjects). This region is indirectly related to memory through its influence on related functions such as cognitive control, executive function, conflict resolution, motivation and perseverance.

2) Analysis of the brains of five SuperAgers showed the anterior cingulate cortex had approximately 87 percent less tangles than age-matched controls and 92 percent less tangles than individuals with mild cognitive impairment. The neurofibrillary brain tangles, twisted fibers consisting of the protein tau, strangle and eventually kill neurons.

3) The number of von Economo neurons was approximately three to five times higher in the anterior cingulate of SuperAgers compared with age-matched controls and individuals with mild cognitive impairment. "It's thought that these von Economo neurons play a critical role in the rapid transmission of behaviorally relevant information related to social interactions, which is how they may relate to better memory capacity."

Link: http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2015/02/superager-brains-yield-new-clues-to-their-remarkable-memories.html

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