This study documents that brain NP high in carotenoids was consistently associated with better performance on multiple cognitive domains, activities of daily living, and lower depression among non-demented older adults in the GCS. Results also confirm previously established positive relationships between serum and brain concentrations of carotenoids in this group of subjects independent of their cognitive status (27). Given that serum concentrations of carotenoids likely reflect their habitual intake in the oldest old as previously discussed (27), our findings in the present study underscore the timing of intervention with diet high in carotenoid content before the onset of age-related dementia. This is further supported by the fact that nutrient concentrations and NP scores were not different between demented and non-demented subjects. Our exploratory findings also corroborate previous findings where serum levels of carotenoids are positively associated with better cognition in aging subjects (26, 32, 57–60). Specifically, higher serum lutein concentration was reported to be associated with better performance on language (32), which is similar to the correlation between NP2 and language score in this study.