Week 12 Lecture Flashcards

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1
Q

What is senescence?

A

degenerative phase of ageing, universal, progressive

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2
Q

What is the maintenance function in the body?

And what happens to this as we age?

A

Repair system: it can damage tissue that is repaired, cancers destroyed by immune system.
This system starts to diminish between ages 50-100.

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3
Q

What are the two main theories of ageing, which BOTH contribute to senescence (ageing)?

A
  1. cellular theories (exposure to toxins, chemicals etc)

2. programming theories (max lifespan preset by genetic factors)

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4
Q

What is the most common experimental design in ageing?

A

cross sectional (compare performance of different groups of adults).

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5
Q

What effects do we have to be mindful of in ageing studies?

A

cohort effects (war, free education etc) over time

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6
Q

What is the ideal study method in ageing?

A

longitudinal studies

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7
Q

What does longitudinal ageing studies guard against?

A

cohort differences

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8
Q

What types of functioning slows as we age?

A

motor, sensory and intellectual functioning

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9
Q

What physiological slowing occurs as we age?

A

cardiovascular, heart and lungs, skin and bone

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10
Q

If you look older, does this mean you are more likely to die sooner than someone who looks younger than you but is the same age?

A

no

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11
Q

Brain weight/mass decreases over adulthood but accelerates considerably after what age?

A

60

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12
Q

As we age, the blood flow to the brain is decreased. This leads to

A

neuronal death

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13
Q

What changes in our sensation and perception as we age?

A

difficulties in processing and interpreting sensory information.

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14
Q

Losses in sensory and perception takes two forms. What are these?

A
  1. increased sensory thresholds

2. decreased sensitivity to low level stimulation

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15
Q

What happens to your pupils and lens as you age?

A

pupils become smaller and lens become denser

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16
Q

Are declines in visual acuity greater in males or females?

A

declines are greater in women than in men

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17
Q

Most visual acuity can be corrected. For those who don’t have it corrected, this reduces what?

A

Older adults quality of life.

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18
Q

What is called when you can’t see things as closely as you used to?

A

prespiopia

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19
Q

What percentage of adults who are 75+ years have good corrected vision?

A

75%

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20
Q

What does 20/20 vision actually mean?

What does 20/40 vision mean?

A

You can see at 20 metres what normal people can see at 20 metres.
You can see at 20 feet what others can see at 40 feet (only “half as good”).

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21
Q

Which age groups are less able to divide attention?

A

older adults

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22
Q

What difficulties do older adults have in regard to distractions?

A

they have problems selectively attending to stimuli while ignoring distractors

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23
Q

Older adults have the greatest difficulties in processing visual information when the situation is… (2)

A
  • novel

- complex

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24
Q

How many times more likely are hearing impairments than vision in older age?

A

3X more likely

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25
Q

Most age related hearing problems originate where?

A

in the inner ear

26
Q

Do men or women lose their hearing sensitivity earlier and faster than the other?

A

men

27
Q

What happens in the sound threshold as we age?

A

increase in the thresholds needed to hear sounds

28
Q

What is speech perception dependant on?

A

hearing

cognitive processes

29
Q

Auditory perception is more difficult in older adults when (2)?

A
  1. task is novel

2. listening conditions are poor

30
Q

To understand a conversation as an older adult, what are important about the conditions and what becomes problematic?

A
  1. listening conditions are important

2. increased attentional demands are problematic

31
Q

What happens as we age in terms of sensitivity to taste?

A

General decline (greater in men)

32
Q

What happens as we age in terms of smell?

A

general decline in perception of odour (worsened by disease, smoking)

33
Q

What age does the sensitivity to touch gradually decrease?

A

gradually lost from middle childhood

34
Q

What ages does the sensitivity to changes in temperature gradually decrease?

A

declines in later adulthood

35
Q

What is interesting about sensitivity to pain stimuli as we age?

A

for stronger pain, older adults remain as sensitive as others. For weaker pain, this sensitivity gradually decreases.

36
Q

Are declines in sensation and perception universal?

A

yes

37
Q

What is having 2 or more than 2 sensory impairments associated with?

A

difficulty with basic tasks of living. However, these impairments could be a sign of something greater.

38
Q

Adults tend to do more poorly on cognitive tests, however, this may be due to what?

A

physical (arthritis, etc) or psychosocial reasons (worry etc)

39
Q

episodic, working, explicit, implicit, semantic memory and executive functioning all ____ decline in older adulthood.

A

decline

40
Q

What are some non cognitive factors which may influence the decline of cognitive abilities as you age?

A

health, education, and SES factors

41
Q

What skill increases in adults across years?

A

solving real world problems

42
Q

Older adults perform better when tests are:

A
  • practical

- based on familiar situations

43
Q

what is considered early onset of dementia?

A

less than 65 years

44
Q

Are men or women at more risk older than 85 years?

A

women

45
Q

What is the most common cause of dementia?

A

alzheimer’s

46
Q

What is said to be the major global public health challenge for the 21st century?

A

alzheimer’s

47
Q

What is the 4th leading cause of overall disease burden in Australia?

A

alzheimer’s

48
Q

There has been a generational shift in the burden of disease from __ diseases to ___ illnesses.

A

acute

chronic

49
Q

The longer that someone with dementia is in family care, the better:

A

health outcomes will be due to delayed institutionalisation.

50
Q

What is the predicted annual economic value of unpaid dementia care?

A

$450 billion US

51
Q

What is the commonest mental health problem affecting older people?

A

Depression

52
Q

What re the two biggest mental health issues for the elderly?

Who are more likely to experience this?

A

dementia and depression

women

53
Q

work role forms a critical part of adult:

A

identity

54
Q

Older adult workers have lower rates of _____ and higher rates of job _____.

A

absenteeism

satisfaction

55
Q

Older adults who adjust best to retirement are:

A
  • healthy and active
  • education
  • adequate income
  • social network
  • usually were satisfied with life pre-retirement
56
Q

Widowers score ____ then married people on measures of psychological wellbeing.

A

lower

57
Q

Coping responses for bereavement are encouraged by (2)

A
  • social relationships

- better general health

58
Q

Women generally have higher levels of depression than men. Bit gender effects often are ____ in widowhood.

A

reversed

59
Q

What may protect against the negative effects of partner death, especially for women?

A

relative health - e.g., this is sad but at least I still have my daughter

60
Q

Why might there be gender differences in bereavement/coping?

A
  • different starting points? (men have to fall further, generally happier)
  • social reason? (more common to be a widowed female)
  • men have more to lose?
  • health differences?
61
Q

What does the trend line look like in life satisfaction?

A

dips in early-mid adulthood and rise again toward retirement age