Brains for Change

Recently, I came across a New York Times article written by Dana G. Smith that caught my eye due to its relevance to my work with my nonprofit, The Melody Project.

According to the article, super agers—individuals age 80 or older who posses the memory capabilities of 20-30 year olds—have been the object of great interest and study for the past quarter decade.

Although research is limited and ever-expanding, one key point stands out: Super agers don’t share a special diet, rigorous exercise schedule, or common medication. Instead, they fill their days with socialization and interaction with friends, peers, and family. 

As the article highlights, the beneficial effect of Super agers’ high sociability is supported by past neurobiological studies suggesting that socialization reinforces the brain’s resistance to cognitive decline. Specifically, social interaction protects against decreases in brain volume that occur with both loneliness and age. This protection occurs because loneliness increases levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, that can, when accumulated in the brain, induce debilitating neurological damage. By maintaining robust networks of social interaction, Super agers fend off loneliness and cortisol in their brains, allowing their brain volume to maintain that of their 50-60 year old counterparts. 

Moreover, Super agers have higher quantities of the special von Economo neuronal cells. Past research has suggested that these neurons are crucial for social behavior, they have been identified only in highly sociable animals. Hence, most, if not all, Super agers tends to be extroverts who build, foster, and maintain strong social networks that have far-reaching effects on their overall well-being.

Of course, forcing yourself to be social won’t necessarily elongate your healthspan. Some people are predisposed to be more talkative than others, and many people find it difficult to maintain connections as they age.

However, by creating environments for the aging population to gather, learn, and share their stories with each other and with their younger counterparts, we can increase the accessibility of social interaction for the aging populous. Through nonprofits like The Melody Project, a student-run initiative dedicated to bringing together high school students and assisted living residents, aging citizens can rediscover camaraderie, belonging, and interaction, fostering the next generation of Super agers—just one note at a time.

Learn more about The Melody Project at www.themelodyproject.org!

Image Credits: featured image from Harvard Health; in-text image from AARP.