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Review
. 2018 Jul-Sep;12(3):221-227.
doi: 10.1590/1980-57642018dn12-030001.

Operationalized definition of older adults with high cognitive performance

Wyllians Vendramini Borelli  1 , Karoline Carvalho Carmona  2 , Adalberto Studart-Neto  3 , Ricardo Nitrini  3 , Paulo Caramelli  2 , Jaderson Costa da Costa  1
Affiliations
Review

Operationalized definition of older adults with high cognitive performance

Wyllians Vendramini Borelli et al. Dement Neuropsychol. 2018 Jul-Sep.

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

Recently, there has been an increasing number of studies on exceptional cognitive aging. Herein, we aim to objectively provide the operationalized characterization of older adults with unusually high memory ability. Some authors have defined them as "SuperAgers", individuals aged 80 years or older with memory ability similar or superior to middle-aged subjects. On the other hand, the terminology "high-performing older adults" (HPOA) seems to appropriately conceptualize these individuals without exaggeration. A threshold for age is not a reliable criterion, but may be defined as 75 and 80 years of age for developing and developed countries, respectively. We propose that HPOA may exhibit episodic memory test scores equal to or greater than those of individuals aged 50-60 years, according to the validated tables for the respective country. This group must also have global cognition scores within expected average values for age and education. Executive functioning may play a central role in the exceptional memory performance of this group. Further studies are essential to confirm existing findings and may provide important evidence for cognitive aging theory and the neurobiology of dementia.

O número de estudos sobre envelhecimento cognitivo acima da média vem crescendo recentemente. Neste trabalho, nosso objetivo é fornecer a caracterização operacionalizada de idosos com capacidade de memória excepcionalmente alta. Certos autores definem-nos “Superidosos”, indivíduos com 80 anos ou mais com habilidade de memória similar a adultos de meia-idade. No entanto, a terminologia “idosos de alto desempenho” parece definir de maneira apropriada esses indivíduos, sem restrição excessiva. Apesar de um limite de idade ser imperfeito, ele pode ser definido como 75 ou 80 anos, em países em desenvolvimento ou desenvolvidos, respectivamente. Nós propomos que os idosos de alto desempenho devam ter escores em testes de memória episódica de indivíduos entre 50 a 60 anos, de acordo com tabelas validadas para o país. Esse grupo também deve ter escores de cognição global dentro da média para idade e educação. O funcionamento executivo pode ter um papel central no desempenho excepcional de memória desse grupo. Mais estudos são essenciais para confirmar a existência desses achados e podem fornecer evidência importante para teoria de envelhecimento cognitivo e a neurobiologia das demências.

Keywords: aging; memory; neuropsychology; older adults; youthful cognition.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Hypothetical models for different cognitive trajectories of aging.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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