Scientists discover a key to staying mentally sharp in old age
People who have razor-sharp minds in their 80s and 90s — known as “SuperAgers” — produce twice the number of young neurons as cognitively healthy adults and 2.5 times as many as people with Alzheimer’s disease, a new study found. “This shows the aging brain has the capacity to regenerate — that’s huge,” said study coauthor Dr. Tamar Gefen, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Mesulam Institute for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. While a mature neuron is stable, a young neuron is the most adaptable and plastic type of brain cell, with an enhanced ability to grow, integrate and “wire itself into a brain,” said Gefen, who helps lead the Northwestern SuperAging Program. Researchers there have been studying elderly men and women with superior memories for 25 years. “SuperAgers are showing the preservation of immature neurons with heightened excitability — they are bright-eyed and bu...
