Oversized Neurons Could Help the Aged Retain Memories

iStock/Thinkstock(CHICAGO) — Although aging has been linked to cognitive decline, there are nevertheless seniors who demonstrate an amazing ability to demonstrate short- and long-term memory recall despite being well into their 80s or older.

As The New York Times reports, Tamar Gefen, a grad student at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, not only got to know individuals described as SuperAgers, but also convinced some to donate their brains to science after their deaths.

In that way, Gefen and her team were attempting to see what in their brains accounted for their remarkable memories. The short answer was that they had five times the number of oversized brain cells than other people.

Known as von Economo neurons for an Austrian anatomist whose studies in the 1920s weren’t rediscovered for more than 70 years, these stick-shaped neurons provide long-distance transmission of nerve impulses, resulting in a fast relay.

Another scientist, John M. Allman of Caltech, theorizes that von Economo neurons may help us manage impulses and stay focused on long-term goals.

But in terms of the SuperAgers, Gefen don’t know how they wound up with more von Economo neurons than other people and somehow managed to retain so many of them as they got older.

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