Short Wave

Why Do Some 80 Year-Olds Have Extraordinary Memories?


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The human brain tends to slow down as we age — even healthy brains shrink. That can make learning and memory harder as people age. But some people’s brains shrink more slowly than their peers. This lucky group is called “SuperAgers.” They’re people aged 80 or older. But they have the memory abilities of someone 50-to-60 years old. This week in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia, researchers from Northwestern University’s SuperAging Program summarized some of the secrets they’ve learned in the last 2.5 decades. 

Want to hear about more stories about human health and aging? Email us and let us know at [email protected].

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