How Long-Term Social Connection Supports Brain Health and Memory in Aging

As people age, it is common to experience some memory lapses or slower thinking. Although this is often a normal part of aging, it can still affect a person’s quality of life. Scientists have been investigating ways to slow or prevent cognitive decline, and growing evidence points to the potential role of social interaction. Recently, a study using rats found that long-term social connection may help protect the brain from age-related memory decline. This work, titled “The impact of long-term social housing on biconditional association task performance and neuron ensembles in the anterior cingulate cortex and the hippocampal CA3 region of aged rats,” was recently published in Aging-US (Volume 17, Issue 9). Full blog - https://aging-us.org/2025/10/how-long-term-social-connection-supports-brain-health-and-memory-in-aging/ Paper DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.206310 Corresponding author - Anne M. Dankert - adankert@unc.edu Abstract video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poNnPz1ti6Q Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://aging.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Faging.206310 Subscribe for free publication alerts from Aging - https://www.aging-us.com/subscribe-to-toc-alerts Keywords - aging, aging, environmental enrichment, working memory, complex cognition, immediate early genes To learn more about the journal, please visit our website at https://www.Aging-US.com​​ and connect with us on social media at: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AgingUS/ X - https://twitter.com/AgingJrnl Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/agingjrnl/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@AgingJournal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aging/ Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/aging-us.bsky.social Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/AgingUS/ Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1X4HQQgegjReaf6Mozn6Mc MEDIA@IMPACTJOURNALS.COM