Their brains are not just performing well for their age. Their brains are biologically different.
At the intersection of biology and lived experience, neuroscientist Emily Rogalski's research into 'superagers'—people over eighty whose minds function like those decades younger—offers a quiet but profound reframing of what aging can mean. Presented this week at the Brain Congress in Porto Alegre, her findings reveal that these individuals carry structurally distinct brains: cortexes that resist thinning, a thicker anterior cingulate cortex, and an abundance of specialized neurons that age at a pace the calendar cannot easily explain. The deeper implication is not that some are simply lucky, but that the mind's longevity may be shaped as much by how one chooses to inhabit a life as by the genes one inherits.
- The prevailing assumption that cognitive decline is an inevitable tax on old age is being challenged by brains that simply refuse to follow the expected script.
- Superagers' anterior cingulate cortexes are measurably thicker than those of people in their fifties and sixties—a structural anomaly that upends standard models of brain aging.
- Their brain tissue deteriorates two and a half times more slowly than peers, and they carry four to five times more von Economo neurons, pointing to a biological resilience rather than mere good fortune.
- Researchers are now tracking over two hundred superagers with wearable sensors, mapping the daily rhythms of sleep, movement, and conversation to decode what sustains this advantage.
- With 85% of superagers exercising regularly and most remaining socially and professionally active, the research is converging on a portrait of aging as something navigable—not just endured.
There are people who reach eighty and think like they're fifty—and neuroscientist Emily Rogalski has spent years trying to understand why. Presenting her findings at the Brain Congress in Porto Alegre, she reframed the central question of aging research: rather than asking what goes wrong, she asked what happens when a brain resists time.
The answers are written in the brain's physical structure. Where typical eighty-year-olds show clear thinning of the cortex compared to people in their fifties and sixties, superagers show none of it. More striking still, their anterior cingulate cortex—a region governing attention, impulse control, and the bridge between emotion and reason—is actually thicker than in people two or three decades younger. Attention, Rogalski notes, is foundational to memory itself.
At the microscopic level, the distinction deepens. Superagers' brains age two and a half times more slowly than their peers', and they possess four to five times more von Economo neurons—specialized cells tied to social cognition, self-awareness, and rapid decision-making. The neurons in their memory-critical regions look, under examination, like those of a much younger person.
Yet biology is only part of the story. Eighty-five percent of the superagers Rogalski studied exercise regularly. Most remain socially active—leading organizations, volunteering, or continuing in their careers. To better understand these patterns, her team equipped more than two hundred superagers with wearable sensors tracking sleep, movement, and conversation. The portrait that emerges is not of people who escaped aging, but of people who remained stubbornly engaged with life.
The research carries a quietly hopeful message: that cognitive resilience in old age is less a genetic lottery and more an outcome shaped by the intersection of inherited biology and deliberate living.
There are people who reach eighty and think like they're fifty. Their memories are sharp. Their minds move quickly. They solve problems the way younger adults do. Neuroscientist Emily Rogalski has spent years studying these outliers—people she calls "superagers"—and what she has found is that their brains are not just performing well for their age. Their brains are biologically different.
Rogalski, one of the world's leading authorities on cognitive aging, presented her research this week at the Brain Congress in Porto Alegre. Rather than asking the traditional question—what goes wrong in the aging brain?—she flipped the inquiry: what happens when a brain resists time? The answer, it turns out, lies in the physical structure of the brain itself. When researchers compared brain scans of typical eighty-year-olds with those of people in their fifties and sixties, they saw a clear pattern of thinning in the outer layer of the brain, the cortex. But in superagers, that thinning simply did not occur. The brain maps remained, as Rogalski described it, clean.
The most striking discovery involved a small but crucial structure called the anterior cingulate cortex. This region acts as a bridge between the emotional centers of the brain and the rational ones, governing attention, impulse control, and emotional regulation. In superagers, this area was not just preserved—it was actually thicker than in people two or three decades younger. For a brain that has lived eighty years, this is remarkable. The anterior cingulate is vital to attention, and attention is fundamental to memory itself.
But how do superagers maintain this biological advantage? The answer appears to be a matter of pace. Rogalski's team measured the rate at which brain tissue deteriorates with age and found that in superagers, this process unfolds two and a half times more slowly than in their peers. Biologically, their brains are aging at a rate closer to someone in their fifties. When researchers examined brain tissue at the microscopic level, they discovered an abundance of specialized neurons called von Economo neurons, which are crucial for social cognition, self-awareness, and rapid decision-making. Superagers possessed four to five times more of these neurons than typical older adults. The neurons in memory-critical regions like the entorhinal cortex were visibly larger and healthier, resembling those of much younger brains.
Yet biology alone does not tell the full story. Rogalski's research reveals that lifestyle plays a substantial role. Among the superagers she studied, eighty-five percent exercised regularly. More than six percent continued working in their primary occupations, and most led organizations or volunteered. Social engagement emerged as particularly important—the research team even equipped over two hundred superagers with wearable sensors to track sleep, physical activity, and conversation patterns as a measure of social connection. Interestingly, about forty percent of the superagers still smoked, a reflection of the generation in which they grew up, though this figure has been declining. Rogalski emphasized this was not an endorsement but an observation about generational patterns.
The research suggests that being a superager is not about immunity to disease or some genetic lottery won at birth. Rather, it appears to be a form of biological resilience—a combination of inherited advantage, active engagement with the world, and a refusal to withdraw from social and intellectual life. The implications are significant: they suggest that how we age is not entirely predetermined, that the mind's capacity to remain sharp into old age is not a rare gift but a possibility that emerges from the intersection of biology and choice.
Notable Quotes
The anterior cingulate cortex was actually thicker in superagers than in individuals 20 to 30 years younger— Emily Rogalski, neuroscientist at the University of Chicago
Lifestyle factors can reduce the prevalence of dementia by up to 40%, and superagers demonstrate the power of continued engagement with work, volunteering, and social connection— Emily Rogalski's research findings
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
When Rogalski talks about these superagers, is she saying they're just lucky—born with better brains?
Not entirely. Yes, there's a biological component, but the research shows something more interesting. Their brains age slower, which could be genetic, but the lifestyle data suggests they're also actively maintaining their minds through work, socializing, and exercise.
So if I'm eighty and I'm not a superager yet, can I become one?
That's the question Rogalski's work opens up. The lifestyle factors—exercise, social engagement, continued mental activity—those are things anyone can do. Whether you can reverse decades of brain aging is still unclear, but the research suggests you can slow the decline.
The von Economo neurons—why do those matter so much?
They're the neurons that let you read a room, make quick decisions, understand yourself. Superagers have four to five times more of them. It's not just about memory; it's about the quality of thinking, the ability to navigate complex social and cognitive situations.
Is this research saying that staying busy and social is the secret to aging well?
It's part of it, yes. But the brain scans show something deeper—the actual tissue is different. The anterior cingulate cortex is thicker. The neurons are larger. So it's not just that superagers behave differently; their brains have physically adapted differently. The lifestyle and the biology are intertwined.
What about the smokers in the study? That seems to contradict the health message.
Rogalski was careful to note that's not an endorsement. It's a generational artifact—these are people who grew up when smoking was normalized. The point is that even with that risk factor, some of them maintained sharp minds. It suggests resilience can overcome certain challenges, though that doesn't mean smoking is harmless.
So what's the practical takeaway for someone who wants to age well?
Stay connected. Keep working or volunteering. Exercise. Engage your mind socially and intellectually. The research can't promise you'll become a superager, but it shows that the brain responds to how you live. You're not just aging; you're actively shaping how your brain ages.