chapter 2-neuroscience as basis

Question 1

neuroimaging

Answer 1

set of techniques in which pictures of the brain are taken in various ways to provide understanding both normal and abnormal cognitive aging

Question 2

structural neuroimaging

Answer 2

provides highly detailed images of anatomical features of the brain; pictures, what the brain looks like at specific moment; xray, CT, MRI

Question 3

functional neuroimaging

Answer 3

provides indication of brain activity; information about what parts of the brain are active when doing a specific task; SPECT, PET, fMRI, NIRSI

Question 4

neuropsychological approach

Answer 4

compares healthy adults to those with pathological disorders of the brain; compares norms; identify factros taht are influential in age related cognitive decline

Question 5

neuro-correlational approach

Answer 5

links measures of cognitive performance to measures of brain structure or functioning; real time investigation of changes in brain functioning; fMRI; older adults brains compensat for cognitive decline

Question 6

activation imaging approach

Answer 6

links functional brain activity with cognitive behavior data; support use of compensatory strategies; fMRI to perform task

Question 7

brain is made up of neurons

Answer 7

dendrites, axon, terminal branches; communicate via neurotransmitters across synapse

Question 8

neuroanatomy

Answer 8

study of the structure of the brain

Question 9

frontal lobe

Answer 9

executive functions (think, plan, organize, problem solve), regulating emotions; schizophrenics, addicts have different frontal lobes; first place to be affected by dementia

Question 10

temporal lobe

Answer 10

memory; understand language; dementia; alzheimers

Question 11

parietal lobe

Answer 11

perception; sensory input; proprioception; somatosensory cortex

Question 12

occipital lobe

Answer 12

vision

Question 13

corpus callosum

Answer 13

connects hemispheres

Question 14

body connects __ to brain

Answer 14

contralateral

Question 15

cerebral cortex

Answer 15

white matter; first to go as we get older

Question 16

cerebellum

Answer 16

balance, coordination

Question 17

limbic system

Answer 17

memory; emotions, LTM, motivation

Question 18

hippocampus

Answer 18

limbic system; memory consolidation

Question 19

amygdala

Answer 19

emotion

Question 20

age related changes in neurons

Answer 20

1. neurons decline
2. number and size of dendrites decrease
3. synapses decrease
4. tangles in axon fibers
5. increases in deposits of proteins (plaque)

Question 21

plaque buildup causes

Answer 21

alzheimer’s; mild to moderate-2-10 years, plaque spreads toward back of brain; sever-most of the brain affects by plaque spread

Question 22

neurotransmittes

Answer 22

chemicals that facilitate the transmission of nerve impulses between neurons

Question 23

dopamine

Answer 23

high level cognitive functioning (inhibiting thoughts, attention, planning, emotion, pleasure/pain); too much indicates schizophrenia; too little parkinson’s, addiction

Question 24

serotonin

Answer 24

mood, memory, appetite, sleep, perceptions, anxiety; low levels-depression, suicidal ideation, OCD

Question 25

acetylcholine

Answer 25

arousal, sensory perception, attention, memory; alzheimers/dementia (low levels)

Question 26

age related changes in brain structure: white matter hyperintensities (WMH)

Answer 26

indicates myelin loss or neural atrophy; white matter-neurons that are covered by myelin that serve to transmit info from one part of cortex to another

Question 27

age related changes in brain structure: considerable __ of the brain

Answer 27

shrinkage; prefrontal, hippocampus, cerebellum

Question 28

age related changes in brain structure: diffusion tensor imaging

Answer 28

provides index of density or structural health of the white matter; how the white matter is functioning; asses rate and change water diffuses through white matter

Question 29

structural brain changes mean: executive functioning

Answer 29

difficulty focusing solely on relevant info

Question 30

structural brain changes mean: memory

Answer 30

specific structural changes (hippocampus) result in memory decline; temporal lobe deficits

Question 31

structural brain changes mean: social-emotional cognition

Answer 31

older adults may rely more on automatic judgement rather than reflective processes; ingrained responses; harder to process other factors

Question 32

structural brain changes mean: prefrontal

Answer 32

positivity effect-older adults are more motivated to derive emotional meaning from life and to maintain feelings

Question 33

parieto frontal integration theory (P-FIT)

Answer 33

proposes that intelligence comes from a distributed and integrated network of neurons in the pariteo frontal regions of the brain; compensate for losses (use both sides)

Question 34

older adults compensate for brain changes by

Answer 34

using more structures of the brain and using both sides

Question 35

theories of brain-behavior changes: HAROLD

Answer 35

hemispheric asymmetry reduction in older adults; suggests bilaterality is compensatory in older adults with reduces cognitive abilities; function of reduced lateralization is compensatory in nature

Question 36

theories of brain-behavior changes: CRUNCH

Answer 36

compensation related utilization of neural circuits hypothesis; aging brain responds to neurological decline by recruiting additional neural circuits in order to complete tasks appropriately; more of the same activation occurs or supplementary processes to compensate

Question 37

theories of brain-behavior changes: STAC

Answer 37

scaffolding theory of cognitive age; age related changes in ones ability to function reflect life long process of compensating for declining by recruiting additional areas; build up and rely on back up pathways;

Question 38

plasticity

Answer 38

interaction between the brain and the environment and is mostly used to describe the effects of experience on the structures and function of the neural system

Question 39

neural stem cells

Answer 39

give rise to new neurons; expand plasticity

Question 40

4 facts about plasticity

Answer 40

1. varies by age 2. ongoing throughout life and involves brain cells other than neurons 3. learning/experience/memory formation or result of brain damage 4. environment and genetics

Question 41

improve plasticity

Answer 41

use whole brain; mental activity; socialization; nutrition; exercise; meditation;