Chapter 14 Flashcards
Demographers
People who study population trends
Population Pyramid
Graphic technique for illustrating population trends
Longevity
Number of years a person can expect to live
Average Life Expectancy
The age at which half of all the people born in a particular year will have died
Useful Life Expectancy
The number of years that a person is free from debilitating chronic disease and impairment
Maximum Life Expectancy
The oldest age to which any person lives
Programmed Theories
Theory that aging is biologically or genetically programmed
Wear-and-Tear Theory
Suggests that the body, much like any machine gradually deteriorates and wears out
Free Radicals
Chemicals produced randomly during normal cell metabolism and that bond easily to other substances inside cells
Cross Linking
Random interaction of some proteins with certain body tissues, such as muscle and arteries
Cellular Theories
Explanation of aging that focuses on processes that occur within individual cells that may lead to the buildup of harmful substances or the deterioration of cells over a lifetime
Telomeres
Tips of the chromosomes that shorten and break with increasing age
Neurofibrillary Tangles
Spiral shaped masses formed when fibers that compose the axon become twisted together
Neuritic Plastic
Structural change in the brain produced when damaged and dying neurons collect around a core of a protein
Neurotransmitters
Chemicals released by neurons in order for them to communicate with each other
Stroke; Cerebral Vascular Accident
An interrupting of the blood flow in the brain due to blockage or a hemorrhage in a cerebral artery
Transient Ischemic Attack
An interrupting of blood flow to the brain; often an early warning sign of stroke
Vascular Dementia
Disease caused by numerous small cerebral vascular accident
Chronic Obtrusive Pulmonary Disease
The most common form of incapacitating respiratory disease among older adults
Parkinson’s Disease
Brain disease known primarily for the characteristic motor symptoms: very slow walking, difficulty getting into and out of chairs, and a slow hand tremor
Presbyopia
Difficulty seeing close objects clearly
Presbycusis
Reduced sensitivity to high pitched tones
Circadian Rhythm
Sleep-wake cycle
Psychomotor Speed
The speed with which a person can make a specific response
Useful Field of View
An area from which one can extract visual information in a single glance without turning one’s head or moving one’s eyes
Working Memory
The process and structure involved in holding information in mind and simultaneously using it for other functions
Explicit Memory
The deliberate and conscious remembering of information that is learned and remembered at a specific time
Implicit Memory
The unconscious remembering of information learned at some earlier point
Episodic Memory
The general class of memory having to do with the conscious recollection of information from a specific time of event
Semantic Memory
The general class of memory having to do with the conscious recollection of information from a specific time or event
Autobiographical Memory
Memory for events that occur during one’s life
External Aids
Memory aids that rely on environmental resources, such as notebooks or calenders
Internal Aids
Memory that rely on mental process, such as imagery
Dysphoria
Feeling sad or down
Medications for severe depression
Heterocyclic Antidepressants (HCAs), Monoamine Oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
Behavior Therapy
Type of therapy based on the notion that depressed people experience too few rewards from their environment
Cognitive Therapy
Type of therapy based on the idea that maladaptive beliefs or cognition about oneself are responsible for depression
Anxiety Disorders
Problems such as feelings of severe anxiety, phobias, and OCD
Dementia
Family of diseases involving serious impairment of behavioral and cognitive functioning
Alzheimer’s Disease
A disease marked by gradual declines in memory, attention, and judgement; confusion as to time and place; difficulties in communicating; decline in self-care skills; inappropriate behavior; and personality changes
Incontinence
Loss of bladder or bowel control
Amyloid
Protien the is produced in abnormally high levels in Alzheimer’s patients
Autosomal Dominant Inheritance
The presence of certain genes that means that is a 100% chance of the person eventually getting the disease
Risk Genes
Genes that increase one’s risk of getting the disease
Spaced Retrieval
Memory intervention based on the E-I-E-I-O approach to memory intervention
