Normal Aging Flashcards
when do the major developmental changes occur?
first 3 years of life
when does a modest increase in brain weight occur?
3-18 years
myelination of new cortical areas continues into
4th decade
gross anatomical change: brain weight
- plateus at 18
- slowly declines by age 50
gross anatomical changes: ventricles
- increased in size found between 3rd and 7th decade
- more rapid thereafter
gross anatomical changes: cortical atrophy
- gyri appear thinner, sulci widen
- no correlation with amount of ventricular dilation
microscopic changes
- neuronal dropout
- lipofuscin accumulation
- granulovascular degeneration
- neurofibrillary tangles
- neuritic (senile) plaques
microscopic changes: neuronal dropout
significant loss of neurons in superior temporal gyrus, precentral gyrus, and striate cortex
microscopic changes: lipofuscin accumulation
- yellow-brown pigment (lipid and protein) accumulates in the cytoplasm of neurons
- increases with chronological age
- healthy diet helps prevent this
microscopic changes: granulovascular degeneration
small, clear vacuoles with a smaller central granule (often found in the hippocampus)
the hippocampus helps with
memory
microscopic changes: neurofibrillary tangles
- Alzheimer’s disease
- thick, fibrous brand arranged irregularly in the cytoplasm of neurons
microscopic changes: neuritic (senile) plaques
found in neuronal processes and supporting cells
psychological aspects of aging
- fluid intelligence
- crystalized intelligence
- practical intelligence
fluid intelligence
- general cognitive capacity within the individual that requires relational thinking
- ability to develop creative solutions to problems
crystalized intelligence
- acculturated skills that are cumulative
- ability to understand concepts based on prior learning
- knowledge gained by experience
example of crystalized intelligence
playing wordle and knowing that /t/ and /k/ can go in front of /r/
practical intelligence
ability to apply intellectual skills to everyday activities
adult cognitive changes
- fluid intelligence
- crystalized intelligence
- practical intelligence
- non-verbal intelligence
adult cognitive changes: fluid intelligence
- decreases with age, rigidity
- abilities such as inductive reasoning, figural relations, associative memory
adult cognitive changes: crystalized intelligence
- increases with age
- abilities such as vocabulary, verbal comprehension, semantic relations
adult cognitive changes: practical intelligence
decreases with age
adult cognitive changes: non-verbal abilities
- decreases with age
- abstract reasoning, perceptual-motor speed, spatial abilities
general sensory system changes
- hearing
- vision
sensory system changes: hearing
- peripheral
- degeneration of hair cells
- neuronal loss in brainstem auditory nuclei/temporal auditory cortex
- presybycusis
- infections of the middle and inner ear
- ototoxic medicines
sensory system changes: peripheral hearing
benign bony growths of external auditory canal
sensory system changes: degeneration of hair cells in ear
sensorineural loss
hearing: neuronal loss in brainstem auditory nuclei/temporal auditory cortex
50% in superior temporal gyrus lost by age 80
sensory system changes: presybycusis
- cochlear changes
- losing your hearing over time
general sensory system changes: vision
- changes in pupillary function and lens light transmissibility
- retinal changes reduction of cortical neurons in retina
- cataracts
- glaucoma
- presbyopia
sensory system changes: retinal changes
lipofuscin accumulation
sensory system changes: presbyopia
losing your vision over time
language and aging
- reduced perceptual ability
- decreased abundancy of messages produce impairments in normal-hearing elderly adults as compared to younger adults, especially under stressed circumstances (ex: competing noise)
- confrontation naming
- slower timing
- attentional deficits
- short term memory deficits
- discourse recall
language and aging: reduced perceptual ability
difficulty with comprehension
language and aging: confrontation naming
- less able to benefit from phonemic cues
- more help by verbal cues
- ex: broccoli but the white one for “cauliflower”
language and aging: short term memory deficits
some of typical, but others are an issue
language abilities that don’t change with age
- vocabulary skills
- automatic speech
- metalinguistic tasks
- discourse structure
- repetition ability
language abilities that don’t change with age: discourse structure
- though may forget minor details
- word finding may be an issue
why does language change in health aging?
- neuronal changes of aging
- changes in non-language cognitive abilities that affect language performance
changes in non-language cognitive abilities that affect language performance
- memory decline (immediate and delayed)
- attentional deficits
- timing issues with regard to speech comprehension processing
ways in which healthy elderly individuals use language everyday influences performance on language tests
- amount of diverse reading
- TV correlated negatively with naming
- years of education correlated positive with naming
generational shifts
- changes found in age cohorts
- younger elderly cohorts tend to achieve higher levels of cognitive functioning
younger elderly cohorts show less decline which may be due to
- more educational opportunities
- improved nutrition
- better medical care throughout life
problem solving is based on
- memory
- sensory ability
- attention
- motivation
any of all these problems solving skills may be compromised which may lead to difficulty with specifically
creative problem solving
creativity tends to peak in
late 30s or early 40s
if looking at major vs. minor contribution within a career age makes
no difference
wisdom
- rich factual knowledge about life
- has social factors that involves self knowledge and interpersonal issues
often creativity and wisdom ___ in late life
converge
in elderly, expertise is often utilized to make up for
slower processing speed
demographics of aging
- 1991, 31.7 million age 65 or over (1 in 8 Americans)
- 99.8 billion dollars in Medicare expenditures
- elderly population growing 3x faster than other age groups
- by 2030, 60 million elders
profile of normal elder
- age 65 and over
- 12 years of education
- mean income of $20,000 or less
- live independently, though close to children
- most do not work
- major source of income is social security
- institutionalization increases after age 75
