Researchers find elderly people with high cognitive function have more of a certain type of brain cell
Researchers have spent years studying superagers in an attempt to understand what sets them apart. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo
“Superagers” have long puzzled scientists, but now researchers say they are unpicking why some people live beyond 80 – and still appear to be in fine fettle, with cognitive capacities on a par with adults decades younger.
Researchers have spent years studying superagers in an attempt to understand what sets the senior citizens apart.
“It’s not so long ago that we thought the only trajectory there was was to get old and senile,” said Prof Emily Rogalski, from Northwestern University, speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Austin, Texas.
“We need to push the envelope and see what is possible in older age and how did [people] get there.”
Researchers say studies show that superagers appear to be more resilient to the slings and arrows of life, and are more extroverted and less neurotic.
But they have also made another discovery. Looking at the brains of 10 superagers after they died, Rogalski said they discovered these individuals have more of a certain type of brain cell known as Von Economo neurons than average elderly individuals.
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