Origin and procedure The Nun Study , begun in 1986 with funding by the National Institute on Aging , focused on a group of 678 American Roman Catholic sisters who were members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. The purpose of the study was to conclude if activities, academics, past experiences, and disposition  correlated to continued cognitive, neurological, and physical ability as patients got older, as well as overall longevity. The participants were gathered on a volunteer basis following a presentation on the importance of donating one's brain for research purposes after death. Prior to the study's beginning, researchers required the participants to be at least 75 years of age and for them to participate in the study until their deaths. Participation in the study included the following; all participants gave permission for researchers to have access to their autobiographies and personal documented information and to participate in regular physical and mental examinations. These examinations were designed to test the subject’s proficiency with object identification, memory, orientation, and language. These categories were tested through a series of mental state examinations with the data being recorded with each passing test. After their deaths, participants were asked to give permission for their brains to be harvested postmortem and studied for signs of Alzheimer’s disease through a process called neuropathological evaluation.
Origin and procedure The Nun Study began in 1986 with funding by the National Institute on Aging . This study was focused on a group of 678 American Roman Catholic sisters who were members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. The purpose of the study was to conclude if activities, academics, past experiences, and disposition are correlated to continued cognitive, neurological, and physical ability as patients got older, as well as overall longevity. The participants were gathered on a volunteer basis following a presentation on the importance of donating one's brain for research purposes after death. Prior to the study's beginning, researchers required the participants to be at least 75 years of age and for them to participate in the study until their deaths. Participation in the study included the following; all participants gave permission for researchers to have access to their autobiographies and personal documented information and to participate in regular physical and mental examinations. These examinations were designed to test the subject’s proficiency with object identification, memory, orientation, and language. These categories were tested through a series of mental state examinations with the data being recorded with each passing test. After their deaths, participants were asked to give permission for their brains to be harvested postmortem and studied for signs of Alzheimer’s disease through a process called neuropathological evaluation.
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