For a small group of people in their 80s, recalling a list of words can feel as easy as it does for someone decades younger. After 25 years of tracking these rare “SuperAgers,” researchers say one trait consistently stands out: they are unusually socially engaged. In a new paper from Northwestern’s SuperAging Program, which began in 2000 and formally reports its findings in 2025, participants are defined by exceptional delayed recall of at least 9 out of 15 words, a score that matches typical performance in 56 to 66-year-olds, and the program’s lead researcher argues that this social trait appears to be tightly linked to their razor-sharp memories.
The SuperAging Phenomenon Defined
The SuperAging Program at Northwestern has spent more than two decades recruiting people aged 80 and older whose memory scores look decades younger. According to a Primary perspective article that summarizes the work, the Program defines a SuperAger as someone at least 80 years old who can recall 9 or more of 15 words after a delay, matching the average performance of 56 to 66-year-olds on the same test. That benchmark sets them apart from cognitively average 80-year-olds, who typically recall far fewer words on standard assessments.
The cohort has grown through continuous recruitment since 2000, with more than 100 participants enrolled and many agreeing to donate their brains after death so scientists can match test scores with brain tissue changes. An early Primary Northwestern MRI study first documented that these 80-year-old SuperAgers perform like much younger adults on delayed recall, often scoring near 9 out of 15 words compared with about 5 or 6 words in cognitively average peers. The same work reported that many volunteers made voluntary commitments to brain autopsy, creating a rare longitudinal dataset that links detailed cognitive testing with eventual neuropathology.
Brain Clues from 25 Years of Research
Once those brain donations began to arrive, neuropathologists could look for biological clues. A Primary neuropathology study that focused on the entorhinal cortex, a memory-critical region, Reports that SuperAgers have nearly a three-fold reduction in Alzheimer-type neurofibrillary tangles compared with cognitively average older controls. At the same time, the study found no significant difference in amyloid plaque density between the two groups, suggesting that tangles in this region may be more tightly tied to preserved memory than plaques in these unusually resilient brains.
Structural MRI has provided a second line of evidence. In a mixed Primary MRI and histology paper, investigators found that a region of the anterior cingulate cortex is actually thicker in SuperAgers than in age-matched cognitively average elders and even younger middle-aged controls. When researchers examined tissue from that same region after death, they saw a lower frequency of Alzheimer-type neurofibrillary tangles and higher dendritic density, strengthening the link between preserved structure, cellular integrity and exceptional memory performance.
The Key Trait: High Social Engagement
While the brain data are striking, the most consistent behavioral trait has played out in the daily lives of the participants. An Institutional report from Northwestern states that SuperAgers “tend to be highly social” and often describe strong interpersonal relationships along with frequent social activities. In surveys and interviews, they report regular contact with friends and family, participation in group events and a general pattern of staying engaged with other people well into their 80s.
The new 25-year synthesis paper, summarized in an Official press briefing, highlights this shared social pattern alongside the strict memory criteria of recalling at least 9 of 15 words at age 80. According to the briefing, the Program’s data show that high levels of social interaction, perceived social support and satisfaction with relationships appear more common in SuperAgers than in typical older adults. In the press materials, researchers describe this high social engagement as a “key trait” that repeatedly emerges when they compare SuperAgers’ lifestyles with those of age-matched peers.
Why Social Ties Matter for Memory
Scientists are cautious about drawing straight lines from behavior to brain tissue, but the convergence of social data and biological findings has sharpened their interest. The anterior cingulate cortex, highlighted in the Primary MRI and histology work, is deeply involved in attention, motivation and social processing, which makes its unusual thickness in SuperAgers especially intriguing. The same study’s report of higher dendritic density and fewer Alzheimer-type tangles in this region suggests that whatever protects these neurons might also support both memory and complex social behavior.
Researchers quoted in an Institutional write-up of the entorhinal tau findings have framed social engagement as one possible contributor to this resilience, while stressing that the current evidence shows correlation rather than causation. To test the connection more rigorously, Northwestern and collaborators have organized a multi-center consortium backed by Official Evidence of $20 million in funding, aimed at replicating the structural and neuropathological signatures of SuperAging in larger and more diverse samples. That expansion is designed to clarify whether strong social networks simply travel alongside healthy brains or might actively help maintain them through mechanisms such as cognitive stimulation, reduced stress or healthier lifestyle patterns.
Limitations and Future Directions
Despite the compelling story, the SuperAging dataset remains relatively small. Individual studies have often included between 10 and 24 SuperAgers, a scale that reflects the rarity of people who meet the strict criteria of being at least 80 years old while recalling 9 or more of 15 words at a level typical of 56 to 66-year-olds. The Primary Northwestern MRI paper that first identified the group’s unusual cortical thickness relied on a modest sample, and later entorhinal cortex work did the same, which means that subtle effects or subgroup differences may be invisible so far.
Genetic and molecular clues are also still emerging. The early Primary Northwestern study reported preliminary genetic findings that hinted at possible biological advantages, but these results were framed as exploratory and in need of replication. The creation of the Official multi-center consortium with $20 million in support is intended to address those gaps by pooling data across sites, increasing the number of brain donations and enrolling more participants from underrepresented backgrounds. Researchers say that only with larger, more diverse cohorts will they be able to untangle how much of SuperAging comes from genes, how much from lifestyle and how much from sheer luck.
Practical Takeaways for Longevity
Even with those caveats, the Program’s messaging has started to shift from description to cautious guidance. In its Institutional overview, Northwestern highlights high social engagement as the most consistent shared trait, alongside brain features like thicker cortex in the anterior cingulate and fewer tangles in the entorhinal cortex. The same overview notes that 24 SuperAger brains had been autopsied as of 2025, giving researchers a rare opportunity to link lifetime patterns of social behavior and memory scores with microscopic changes in brain tissue.
In practice, the Program’s experts have suggested that older adults who want to support long-term memory can take cues from the SuperAgers’ habits, while being clear that no single behavior guarantees similar results. The Primary perspective article and accompanying Official press materials both emphasize staying socially active, nurturing strong interpersonal relationships and seeking out group activities that are mentally and emotionally engaging. Those recommendations sit alongside continued calls for exercise, cognitive challenges and medical care, but the SuperAging data give unusual weight to one message: for many people who keep 80-year-old memories razor sharp, a rich social life is not a side detail, it is the defining trait that travels with their extraordinary brains.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
