growing old Flashcards
changes in social-emotional aspects with age
living with limitations, smaller world, purpose in love
dual aging
more older adults, increased longevity
why doesn’t natural selection select for successful aging genes
doesn’t contribute to passing on our genes or successful adaptation
illnesses that become more prevalent with age
cardiac/vascular diseases, brain (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s), other (other internal organs, broken bones (hip), cancer, diabetes)
changes in the circadian rhythm
flattening of the 24 hour rhythm, fewer hours of deep sleep, highest peak shifts from afternoon to morning, preference and increased need for naps
how much % do people lose between 20 and 70
10
which part of the brain is the last to mature in both ontogenesis and phylogenesis
prefrontal cortex - last in, first out
what are the largest changes in the brain
prefrontal cortex and MTL (hippocampus)
prefrontal cortex changes at a structural level
gray matter - reduction in the number of cells (due to cell death) or may be a sign of neuronal shrinkage
white matter - axonal abnormalities, slowed neurotransmission
what is hemispheric asymmetry reduction
on tasks leading to unilateral prefrontal activity in young adults, older adults tend to show bilateral recruitment (might be compensatory activation or pathological changes such as hemispheric release from inhibition)
changes in the emotion processing regions
the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex are relatively spared - minimal atrophy
cognitive aspects affected in aging
regulative functions, orienting, self-menagment ability, memory
regulative functions
stability vs flexibility (switching between tasks, shielding of goals), working memory (updating relevant information), planning, impulse control
orienting
3D space, temporal space, contextual space, autobiographical space
self-management ability
taking initiative, investing (ensuring that you have enough hobbies to keep you active), positive frame of mind, variety, multi functionality, self-efficacy
memory
failure to remember the right word, failure to remember the contextual details of an event
domain-general theories of aging
based on the hypothesis that there is a shared ability that underlies all of the tasks on which older adults are impaired
three domain general hypothesis of age-related declines
sensory deficits, inhibition, speed of processing
sensory deficits theory
cognitive changes with aging may be attributed to changes in sensations, but possible that there is a common influence underlying both
two lines of research in sensory deficit theory
older adult’s performance on cognitive tasks correlates strongly with their sensory abilities, in young adults cognitive impairments can arise when stimuli are degraded
inhibition theory
cognitive deficits may relate to the inability to ignore irrelevant information in the environment while focusing attention on goal-relevant stimuli
inhibition theory experiment
after reading “before going to bed, please turn off the stove”, older adults more likely to believe that the target word was light - garden path sentence
speed of processing theory
older adults have a slower speed of processing - poorer encoding of information, reduced ability to store information
domain specific theories of cognitive aging
propose that some age-related declines may not be explained by core deficits but by changes that have a larger impact on one area of cognition than on another
word-finding difficulties manifestations
excessive use of pronouns, decreased accuracy and increased reaction time when naming, increased tip-of-the-tongue experience
tip-of-the-tongue state
a person has access to a word’s meaning, but not to the phonological features of the word (accuracy of the phonological information also lower)
summation of priming
good at generating words when there are lots of links converging - apple
episodic memory
memory for the item perviously encountered and memory for contextual details in which the item was encountered
what happens when older adults are given a strategy to use as they learn information
as good as younger adults - deficits in encoding
cognitive aspects that don’t decline
creativity, language skills and capabilities, social skills
how is emotional regulation after 60
better - lower rates of depression, good moods last longer, able to rebound more quickly from negative mood states, focus more on positive information, choose activities based on emotional fulfillment
is memory for emotional information preserved
some aspects - more likely to remember contextual details if the event contains emotional relevance
what improves with age
crystallized intelligence (defining words, answering questions related to general world knowledge, detecting spelling errors, carrying out skills related to jobs that they have held for many years) + pragmatic wisdom (what should be done in complex situations)
what factors influence aging
nutrition and consumption patterns, physical exercise
mild cognitive impairments what are
deficits don’t impair their ability to function in daily life but do exceed those that typically accompany healthy aging
previous names for MCI
benign senescent forgetfulness, age-associated memory impairment
criteria for MCI
subjective memory compliments, impairment in one area of cognition (1.5 sd below age norms), deficits aren’t severe enough
autopsy for the first Alzheimer patient
intracellular neuritic plaques and extracellular neurofibrillary tangles
how many cases of dementia are AD
2/3
how is semantic memory with AD
relatively spared, deficits arise with progression of the disease - especially on word-finding tasks
current research semantic memory AD
examining the extent to which the breakdown in semantic memory is due to changes in the structure of the memory networks or to difficulties retrieving the stored informaiton
neural changes in AD
early - MTL most affected - hippocampus atrophy
amygdala - essential for enhancing individual’s memory for highly emotional events
the nucleus basalts - cell loss - acetylcholine transmission (isn’t just this - therapy with this hormone doesn’t solve it)
later - increased atrophy in the MTL, frontal lobe, temporal lobe
very late stages - most structures, sensory regions
DSM IV for dementia
short term memory problems, cognitive problems in at least 1 other domain, serious enough so as to influence daily functioning, clear consciousness (no hallucinations)
