late adulthood

Question 1

the aging brain in late adulthood

Answer 1

a decrease in total brain volume and volume in key brain structures such as the frontal lobes and hippocampus from 22 to 88 years of age

Question 2

reasons for decrease in brain volume

Answer 2

shrinkage of neurons, lower numbers of synapses, reduced length and complexity of axons, and reduced tree-like branching in dendrites, but only to a minor extent
attributable to neuron loss

Question 3

area of the brain that shrinks most in aging

Answer 3

prefrontal cortex

Question 4

sensory regions of the brain less vulnerable to the aging process

Answer 4

primary visual cortex, primary motor cortex, and
somatosensory cortex

Question 5

general slowing of function in the brain and spinal cord begins in middle adulthood and accelerates in late adulthood, what activities are affected

Answer 5

physical coordination and intellectual performance