Journal
JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Volume 18, Issue 6, Pages 1081-1085Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S1355617712000847
Keywords
Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); Neuropsychology; Dementia; Freesurfer; Elderly; Neuroimaging
Categories
Funding
- Davee Foundation
- Northwestern University Alzheimer's Disease Core Center from the National Institute on Aging [AG13854]
- Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) (National Institutes of Health) [U01 AG024904]
- National Institute on Aging
- National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
- Abbott
- AstraZeneca AB
- Bayer Schering Pharma AG
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Eisai Global Clinical Development
- Elan Corporation
- Genentech
- GE Healthcare
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Innogenetics
- Johnson and Johnson
- Eli Lilly and Co.
- Medpace, Inc.
- Merck and Co., Inc.
- Novartis AG
- Pfizer Inc
- F. Hoffman-La Roche
- Schering-Plough
- Synarc, Inc.
- Alzheimer's Association
- Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- NIH [P30 AG010129, K01 AG030514]
- Dana Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
It is normal for old age to be associated with gradual decline in memory and brain mass. However, there are anecdotal reports of individuals who seem immune to age-related memory impairment, but these individuals have not been studied systematically. This study sought to establish that such cognitive SuperAgers exist and to determine if they were also resistant to age-related loss of cortical brain volume. SuperAgers were defined as individuals over age 80 with episodic memory performance at least as good as normative values for 50- to 65-year-olds. Cortical morphometry of the SuperAgers was compared to two cognitively normal cohorts: age-matched elderly and 50- to 65-year-olds. The SuperAgers' cerebral cortex was significantly thicker than their healthy age-matched peers and displayed no atrophy compared to the 50- to 65-year-old healthy group. Unexpectedly, a region of left anterior cingulate cortex was significantly thicker in the SuperAgers than in both elderly and middle-aged controls. Our findings identify cognitive and neuroanatomical features of a cohort that appears to resist average age-related changes of memory capacity and cortical volume. A better understanding of the underlying factors promoting this potential trajectory of unusually successful aging may provide insight for preventing age-related cognitive impairments or the more severe changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. (JINS, 2012, 18, 1081-1085)
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available