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S2 Foundations Health and Lifespan Development > L2/3 - Cognitive Changes > Flashcards

L2/3 - Cognitive Changes Flashcards

1
Q

What is “successful ageing”?

A

Being able to do what you want as you age and being happy

not about living as long as possible - if you have dimentia you will have a miserable last few years.

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2
Q

What is the prevalence for dementia in elderly?

A

45%

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3
Q

Everyone will get dimentia if they get old enough

True or false

A

False

45% prevalence

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4
Q

Who is Jeanne Calment?

A

Aged 122

does not have dimentia, challenges assumption we will all get it

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5
Q

What is the biggest fear for people as they age?

A

They will get dementia.

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6
Q

What is meant by we use “different language” for cognitive failure when we are old or young?

A

When we are young we say: “I was busy” or “I was tired so I couldn’t remember”

When we are old we use more sinister explanations: “Seniors moment”, “I’m losing it” etc

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7
Q

What are the three interactions that influence how we age?

A

Biological

Psychological

Social

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8
Q

What types of attributions do we make for cognitive failure?

A

Expectations

Environmental Demands

Self-efficacy

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9
Q

What effects does the expectation of “cognitive decline” have on our cognition as we age?

A

If we think we will lose our memory, we are unlikely to try to fix it when it begins to deteriorate

This leads toa circular effect and the cognitive decline becomes self-fulfilling.

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10
Q

Cognitive decline is common as we age and should not be followed up

True or false

A

False

May have other causal effects and should be checked

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11
Q

What is the general decrement principle

important for exam

A

Irreversible decrements inevitably associated with ageing as a consequence of biological degeneration.

Distinguished between pathological and normal (maturational) cognitive ageing

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12
Q

In the general decrement principle, what is biological degeneration?

A

The belief that as we age our biology deteriorates and it is inevitable

evidence is reduction in blood supply, speed of mental processing, how fast people can do things, interconnections between nerve cells become less rich etc.

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13
Q

Does modern evidence suggest that biological degeneration is true?

What is the evidence for this?

A

No

Mice could live 50% longer and be more youthful + cognitive active with an ‘enriched’ environment

e.g. exercise, youthful look, can form new connections

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14
Q

We now think that people degenerate slower than previously imagined.

Why did we believe this at first in comparison to now?

A

Methodology of previous studies looked at older v younger and did comparrison

They assumed all factors were age related - however other factors were at play

Longitudinal studies showed that we can resist ageing better

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15
Q

What is the issue of longitudinal studies

A

They “underestimate change” because of the type of people who sign up and keep coming back

those who get sick or die don’t come back for repeat analysis

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16
Q

What is differential decline?

A

Some things but not others deteriorate with age and others get better

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17
Q

What is increased heterogeneity in ageing?

A

As we get older individuals become more diverse in their character and personality

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18
Q

What are the two hall-marks of cognitive ageing?

A

Differential decline

Increased heterogeneity

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19
Q

Do people become more similar or is there an increase in individual differences as people age?

A

Increase in individual differences

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20
Q

What is the classic ageing pattern?

important for exam

A

Differential Decline

Decrease in: perceptual-motor ability, spatial abilities, abstract reasoning and tasks that involve the integration of new information

Stability or increase in: verbal abilities and general knowledge

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21
Q

What is Horn-Cattel’s distinction between fluid and crystallised general intelligence?

At what stage in life do they increase or decrease?

A

Fluid intelligence reflects neurophysiological status of the individual:
– increase until early adulthood and thereafter decline

Crystallised intelligence, accumulation of knowledge over time:
stable or increases throughout adulthood, at least until the seventh decade.

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22
Q

What type of memory is most susceptible to ageing?

STM, Working memory or LTM?

A

Working memory

  • e.g. a quiz where you need to hold a certain amount of numbers in your memory*
  • LTM and STM (7+-2) don’t show a great age effect*
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23
Q

What happens to people long term memory (LTM) as they age?

A

Their memory for detail over time declines

They remember the gist rather than the specific details

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24
Q

What types of LTM are most and least susceptible to change as we age?

A

Most effected: Episodic memory

(source memory also- type of episodic - the person who told it to you)

Least effected: Procedural, Semantic

25
Q

What are the two types of studies that we use for measuring ageing?

A

Cross-sectional

Longitudinal

26
Q

What impact does using one methodology over the other have when looking at ageing data?

Why is this?

A

Longitudinal studies show later age of onset and less severe rates of decline

For longitudinal, this is due to selective attrition

Due to people who drop out or return for the studies is not random

For Cross-sectional, this may be due to cohort effects

differences between generations

27
Q

What are cohort effects?

A

Differences between generations

28
Q

Are cohort effects getting bigger or smaller?

Why?

A

Smaller

difference between grandparents and parents is bigger than difference between us and parents

Becauseof increases in educational opportunities, nutrition, improved health care

29
Q

Do individuals typically age at similar rates?

A

No

There is heterogeneity in ageing in all aspects

30
Q

Why is there a streotype that most old people are similar?

A

Group trends on cognitive tests can make large individual differences in performance

makes elderly people look more similar, when in fact young people more similar

31
Q

What type of factors contribute to ageing?

A

Individual, lifestyle and environmental factors

32
Q

What are some predictors for ageing?

A

Health habits: smoking, alcohol abuse and
leading a sedentary life predictive of poor performance

Chronic conditions: sensory impairment,
hypertension, cardiovascular disease,
osteoporosis and arthritis impact negatively

Stronger association between health and fluid intelligence rather than crystallised ability

33
Q

Typically, “if it is good for the heart it is good for the ____”

A

brain

34
Q

What are the noncognitive variables that reduce the risk of decline

A

Absence of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases

Favourable environmental circumstance

Complex & intellectually stimulating activities

35
Q

What are some psychological constructs that reduce the risk that you will get cognitive decline?

A

Flexible personality style at mid-life (if you need everything the way you want it, risk of decline)

Spouse with high cognitive status

Perceptual processing speed

Satisfaction with life accomplishments.

36
Q

Why is “time to death” better than age for measuring life expectancy and when can we measure it?

A

People decline at different rates - when decline starts you can begin to measure “time to death”

37
Q

What is the common symptom of dementia?

A

Progressive decline in cognitive functions

38
Q

What is the most common form of dementia?

A

Alzheimer’s disease

50-60% of older people with dementia have Alzheimer’s disease

39
Q

What’s the life expectancy for someone who has recieved a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s?

A

10 years.

however some have rapid decline and some have slower decline

40
Q

What do we use to detect Alzheimer’s?

A

PET scans can see when changes are beginning

41
Q

What is the pattern of impairment we see with people who have dementia?

A

Memory, orientation, judgment, problem solving, community affairs, home, personal care become effected.

42
Q

What is the clinical dementia rating called?

What are its diagnoses?

A

Berg Clinical Dementia Rating

No dementia, questionable dementia, mild, moderate, severe

43
Q

What is the difference between mild cognitive impairment and dementia?

A

Mild cognitive impairment: 5-20% of dementia people will get this but 50% will be the same 10 years later with some fully recovering

Dementia: Cognitive ability will gradually decline until you cannot function on your own

44
Q

What does Altzheimer’s do to the brain physically?

Where does this happen?

A

Destroys and interrupts the functioning of neurons (brain cells)

There is a progressive thinning of the hippocampus and then spreads to cortex

45
Q

What are the neurofibrillary tangles and deposits of amyloid plaques that contribute to Altzheimer’s?

A

Abnormalities in the neurochemistry at the synapse. There are sticky proteins in the brain that destroy nerve cells.

The amyloid plaques form first, they are sticky and have a protein store and has degenerate neuronal fragments that get stuck (as theyre sticky)

Its a problem with an enzyme that snips that precurses protein to produce amyloid in the wrong place and the toxic stuff that is left then clumps in the brain and is very sticky.

Following that you get these neurofibrillary tangles inside the cell

46
Q

What is an amyloid and how is it related to Altzheimer’s?

A

Amyloid itself is important for growth and repair

Altzheimer’s happens because there is a problem in production by the precurses protein, which lead to amyloid plaques.

  • Its a problem with an enzyme that snips that precurses protein to produce amyloid in the wrong place and the toxic stuff that is left then clumps in the brain and is very sticky.*
  • Following that you get these neurofibrillary tangles inside the cell.*
47
Q

What are tangles in the brain?

A

abnormally twisted fibres within neurons

48
Q

How to tangles occur?

A

Tangles are formed because of the deposition of a protein called Tau (a problem with the protein)

– Tau is related to the support structure of the Axon, so it is important in the system but there is a problem there in the protein which leads to twisting and cell death in Altzhiemer’s.

49
Q

Why does the hippocampus and cortex get ‘thinner’ in Altzheimers?

A

Plaques get destroyed by tangles and cell death

50
Q

Plaques and tangles develop before or after symptoms of Altzheimer’s are noticable?

A

Before

51
Q

The density of plaques and tangles aare related to the ____ of the disease

A

severity

more plaques and tangles = more severe

not necessarily clinical symptoms though

52
Q

Are plaques and tangles found in a normal brain?

A

Yes

53
Q

The two classic features of altzheimer’s that are found in the brain are?

A

Plaques and Tangles

54
Q

What are the proposed links for why dementia happens?

(6 things)

A
  • *1. Deficit or imbalance of neurochemicals**
  • – Enzyme responsible for synthesis of acetylcholine, targeted by drug treatments*

2. Excessive accumulation of toxins in brain
– eg alluminium
3. Brain looses capacity to synthesize proteins
– Amyloid precursor protein snipped by enzymes,
may result in beta amyloid

4. Genetic Condition

20% familiar form

5. Head Injury

lets more toxins through and creates incresead production of beta-amyloid

6. Age/Gender

women more likely to get it

55
Q

What happens to the brain when the amyloid doesn’t function properly?

What is this called?

A

Leads to a sticky protein that doesn’t allow neurotransmission

Called: beta-amyloid

56
Q

What are the protective factors against dementia?

A

Education, physical, mental and social activity, non steroidal anti-inflammatory meds

All these significantly reduce chance of developing dementia

57
Q

What influence does heart disease and stroke have on the risk of dementia?

A

Increased risk

58
Q

What was Snowden’s nun study: school sisters of notre dame religious order and what did they find regarding dementia?

A

A group of nuns who donate their brains to science

Better educated women had not shown dementia

  • one had the signs but did not show the symptoms*
  • learning a language decreases chance of dementia*

S2 Foundations Health and Lifespan Development (21 decks)

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