Late adulthood Flashcards
What is the activity theory?
- older people have same psychological needs middle-aged people do
- optimal aging = person stays active
What is the disengagement theory?
- older people have increased preoccupation with the self and decreased investment in society
- optimal aging = greater psychological distance from those around them
- decreased social interaction is expected
What is the socioemotional selectivity theory?
- changes in social motives due to people becoming more aware of limited time left
- reshaping one’s life to concentrate on what one finds most important/meaningful
What are the two stages of aging?
- primary - universal changes
- secondary ageing - effects of illness and disease
What are the key features of Alzheimer’s Disease?
Memory impairment of:
Aphasia - language disturbance
Apraxia - inability to carry out motor function
Agnosia - difficulty recognising or identifying functions
Executive dysfunction - inability to organise, sequence events and abstract thinking
What are the two characteristics of the neuropathology of Alzheimer’s Disease?
- neuritic plaques - masses of dying neural material with a toxic protein that damages neurons, beta-amyloid, at their core
- neurofibrillary tangles - twisted strands of neural fibres within the cell bodies of neurons
relatively spared STM and procedural memory, episodic and semantic memory deficits and impaired verbal and visual learning, anomic aphasis (naming language), deficits in visuospartial, EF, emotional functioning, sensory functioning, and loss of semantic networks are the neuropsychological profile or what?
Alzheimer’s Disease
What is some AD treatment?
cholinesterase inhibitors may delay the rate of functional decline of AD and work on pathways critical for cognitive functioning
What is delirium?
an acute confusional state or episode characterised by a sudden onset of impaired cognition
