Cognitive Aging Flashcards
Aging
Continuum that begins at conception and ends at death; progressive decline in physiological function that increases the likelihood of death
Older Adults:
(Young old:)
(Middle old:)
(Oldest-Old:)
65 +
65-74 years
75-84 years
85+ years
Life expectancy in Canada
M/F?
81 years
M- 79
F - 83
1978 - 9% of pop over 65
2011 - 14% of pop over 65
2 Reason for transition:
- Decline from high fertility to low fertility
2. Steady increase in life expectancy at birth and at older ages
Shift in leading causes of death from __________ to _____________.
Parasitic/Infectious Diseases to Noncommunicable diseases and chronic conditions
Three most common noncommunicable diseases:
Heart/stroke
Cancer
Diabetes
3 Components of Successful Aging
NEED ALL 3
- Low probability of disease/disease related disability (& risk factors for disease)
- High physical and cognitive functioning
- Active engagement w/ life
(50% said they were, only 18.8% actually met the criteria)
__________ may actually be best definition of successful aging
Psychosocial focus: Satisfaction w/ life (past & present)
These cognitive performances deteriorate w/ age:
Exceptions:
- slower processing speed
- hard to ignore irrelevant responses/inhibit
- difficulty remembering context in which info was presented (source memory - part of Episodic)
Semantic knowledge & vocabulary
EFs and Aging (3 mildly impaired)
- Organization
- Generative thinking
- Self-initiation
Attention & aging:
Adults perform worse than younger people if TIMED or if task increases in complexity
WM & Aging
Primary Verbal/Visual:
Central Executive:
Primary: Preserved
Central Executive: Diminished
Declarative & Aging
Episodic:
Semantic:
Episodic: Diminished for details (source memory affected)
Semantic: Preserved - in some cases it improves! (world knowledge)
Non-declarative & Aging
Motor/cognitive skills:
Habits:
*Relative strength
Both preserved
3 Primary Structural Changes in Brain as we age
More activation in:
Stable regions:
- Brain volume shrinks (PFC, caudate, hippoc, amygdala, cerebellum)
- Ventricles become enlarged
- Decreased density & demyelination of white matter tracts
Prefrontal cortices (bilaterally)
Primary visual & entorhinal cortices
Scaffolding Theory of Aging and Cognition (STAC)
Accounts for behavioural decline, decrease in brain structure size & white matter integrity plus increases in prefrontal activation
*Brain adaptation (scaffolding to compensate)
Younger adults - unilateral activation
Older adults (unilateral - performed worse, bilateral activation - performed the same as younger adults)
