Psychological well-being in elderly adults with extraordinary episodic memory

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 10; p. e0186413
• Main Authors: Cook Maher, Amanda, Kielb, Stephanie, Loyer, Emmaleigh, Connelley, Maureen, Rademaker, Alfred, Mesulam, M.-Marsel, Weintraub, Sandra, McAdams, Dan, Logan, Regina, Rogalski, Emily
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 23.10.2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Adults; Age; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Autonomy; Behavioral sciences; Biology and Life Sciences; Brain research; Cognitive ability; Consortia; Dementia; Demographics; Emergency services; Episodic memory; Female; Geriatrics; Health care; Humans; Intelligence; Male; Medical imaging; Medical payments insurance; Medicine and Health Sciences; Memory; Memory, Episodic; Middle age; Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Older people; People and Places; Preventive medicine; Psychiatry; Psychological aspects; Psychological factors; Psychology; Social aspects; Social research; Social Sciences; Social support; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Well being; United States; United States > US; Illinois; Chicago Illinois
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186413

The Northwestern University SuperAging Program studies a rare cohort of individuals over age 80 with episodic memory ability at least as good as middle-age adults to determine what factors contribute to their elite memory performance. As psychological well-being is positively correlated with cognitive performance in older adults, the present study examined whether aspects of psychological well-being distinguish cognitive SuperAgers from their cognitively average-for-age, same-age peers. Thirty-one SuperAgers and 19 cognitively average-for-age peers completed the Ryff 42-item Psychological Well-Being questionnaire, comprised of 6 subscales: Autonomy, Positive Relations with Others, Environmental Mastery, Personal Growth, Purpose in Life, and Self-Acceptance. The groups did not differ on demographic factors, including estimated premorbid intelligence. Consistent with inclusion criteria, SuperAgers had better episodic memory scores. Compared to cognitively average-for-age peers, SuperAgers endorsed greater levels of Positive Relations with Others. The groups did not differ on other PWB-42 subscales. While SuperAgers and their cognitively average-for-age peers reported similarly high levels of psychological well-being across multiple dimensions, SuperAgers endorsed greater levels of positive social relationships. This psychological feature could conceivably have a biological relationship to the greater thickness of the anterior cingulate gyrus and higher density of von Economo neurons previously reported in SuperAgers.