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Why do some people's memories stay sharp as they age?

A donated SuperAger brain at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL.
Shane Collins, Northwestern University
A donated SuperAger brain at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL.

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. 

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This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson and Michelle Aslam. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez and Christopher Intagliata. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Ted Mebane and Gilly Moon were the audio engineers.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Regina G. Barber
Regina G. Barber is Short Wave's Scientist in Residence. She contributes original reporting on STEM and guest hosts the show.
Rachel Carlson
Rachel Carlson (she/her) is a production assistant at Short Wave, NPR's science podcast. She gets to do a bit of everything: researching, sourcing, writing, fact-checking and cutting episodes.
Michelle Aslam
Michelle Aslam is a 2021-2022 Kroc Fellow and recent graduate from North Texas. While in college, she won state-wide student journalism awards for her investigation into campus sexual assault proceedings and her reporting on racial justice demonstrations. Aslam previously interned for the North Texas NPR Member station KERA, and also had the opportunity to write for the Dallas Morning News and the Texas Observer.
Rebecca Ramirez (she/her) is the founding producer of NPR's daily science podcast, Short Wave. It's a meditation in how to be a Swiss Army Knife, in that it involves a little of everything — background research, finding and booking sources, interviewing guests, writing, cutting the tape, editing, scoring ... you get the idea.
Christopher Intagliata is an editor at All Things Considered, where he writes news and edits interviews with politicians, musicians, restaurant owners, scientists and many of the other voices heard on the air.
Ailsa Chang is an award-winning journalist who hosts All Things Considered along with Ari Shapiro, Audie Cornish, and Mary Louise Kelly. She landed in public radio after practicing law for a few years.
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