As we age, our ability to think and remember starts to deteriorate,But not everyone.
Some of us have brains that age more slowly.
Enter the super-ager!
Super-agers are people over the age of 80 who have the brain structures and abilities of much younger people.
Eighty-seven-year-old Bill Gurolnick is a super-ager.
What do I feel like?If I was to give a number, I probably feel like I’m about my early 70s...
Scientists know that parts of the brain decrease in size with age. But in super-agers that process is much slower.
Emily Rogalski is a neuroscientist at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago, Illinois. In a recent study, she showed that super-agers have young brains. The area of the brain responsible for attention and memory -- the cortex -- was shown to be thicker in super-agers.
When we look at the cortex of their brain, we see that, on average,that it looks more like a 50-year-old brain than it looks like an average 80-year-old brain...
Not only do super-agers have thicker cortexes, they have more von Economo neurons. These large brain cells appear to be involved with social-emotional communication.But their exact purpose is still a mystery.
Scientists writing for Smithsonian magazine also call them spindle neurons, and say they are "brain cells for socializing."
Scientists say super-agers have several things in common, including an active lifestyle. Many travel and play sports. They are often big readers. And they usually have healthy relationships and spend time with friends.
Super-agers also seem to have certain common personality traits. Rogalski says they are, for the most part, known for their optimism, resilience and perseverance.
Growing old, she adds, does not have to be depressing and sad.
Perhaps, if we expected a bit better from ourselves, then we would understand that not all aging is ’doom and gloom...
As lead investigator of the study, Rogalski jokingly said that super-agers do not grow on trees -- meaning they are special and few.
She says she wants to find out the reasons Gurolnick’s mind is working so well and not aging as quickly as most.
Gurolnick’s own father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in his 50s. Solving this mystery, Rogalski says, may help those who suffer from brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
We think if we can understand the factors contributing to super-aging, it may offer new hypotheses and new ways to explore the challenges in Alzheimer’s disease.
The science behind super-aging is a relatively new, but growing field. Scientists involved in the research offer this advice as we age: Stay active. Learn new things.Challenge yourself. Surround yourself with healthy relationships.
有些人大脑衰老的速度会慢一些。
也就是超级老人！
超级老人是80岁以上却有着年轻的大脑结构和机能。
87岁的比尔·古洛尼克就是一位超级老人。
“我感觉怎么样？如果用数字形容，我觉得我大概是70岁……”
科学家们知道大脑的某些部分随着年龄的增长而缩小。但对于超级老人，这个过程要慢得多。
艾米丽·罗加尔斯基是美国伊利诺斯州芝加哥市西北大学范伯格医学院的神经科学家。在最近一项研究中，她向人们表明，超级老人拥有年轻的大脑。大脑皮层是大脑中负责注意力和记忆的区域，而超级老人的大脑皮层更厚。
“当我们观察他们大脑皮层的时候，我们发现，平均来说，这看起来更像50岁的大脑，而不是80岁的大脑……”
超级老人不仅拥有更厚的大脑皮层，还拥有更多的von Economo神经元。这些巨大的脑细胞似乎具有社交情感交流功能。但它们的确切用途仍然是个谜。
为《史密森尼杂志》撰稿的科学家也称其为纺锤体神经元，并说它们是“用于交际的脑细胞”。
科学家说，超级老人有很多共同之处，比如积极的生活方式。经常旅行和运动。他们经常阅读。他们通常有健康的人际关系，和朋友在一起。
超级老人似乎也有某些共同的性格特征。罗加尔斯基说，他们在很大程度上乐观、坚韧和有毅力。
她补充说，变老无需沮丧或是悲伤。
“也许，如果我们期望自己变得好一点，那么我们就会明白，并不是所有的衰老都是‘厄运和苦难’……”
作为这项研究的首席研究员，罗加尔斯基开玩笑说，超级老人并非随处可见，这意味着他们很特别也很稀少。
她说，古洛尼克的头脑运转良好，不像大多数人那样衰老得很快，她想找到原因。
古洛尼克的父亲在50多岁时被诊断出患有阿尔茨海默氏症。罗加尔斯基说，解开这个谜团可能会帮助那些患有阿尔茨海默氏症等脑部疾病的人。
“我们认为，如果我们能够了解是什么造就了超级老人，就可能会提供新的假说和方法来应对阿尔茨海默氏症的挑战。”
超级老人背后的科学属于相对较新、但正在上升的领域。参与这项研究的科学家们提出了以下建议，随着年龄的增长，我们要保持活跃。学习新事物。挑战自己。让自己置身于健康的人际关系中。