Week 2: Intro to Neuroscience & Cognitive Health Flashcards
most older adults stay socially active
TRUE
executive function is 3 things
working memory
inhibition
task-switching
frontal includes:
executive function (working memory, inhibition, task-switching)
parietal includes:
motor cortex
sensory cortex
temporal includes:
memory
hippocampus (emotion and speech)
occipital includes:
sight, vision
cerebellum includes:
gross and fine motor skills
coordination and balance
brain stem includes:
control of heart rate and blood pressure
swallowing, body temperature
in charge of keeping you alive
cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) does 3 things
- protection
- buoyancy
- chemical stability
white vs grey matter
white:
- inside of brain
- colour of myelin (facilitates communication in grey matter regions)
- 60% of brain
- develop into 30s
grey:
- outside of brain
- 40% of brain
- develop into 20s
normal changes in brain across lifespan
- loss of grey matter
- increased CSF
- hippocampus loss
- ventricular enlargement
- reduction in cerebral blood flow (CBF)
- fluid intelligence worsens
- crystallized intelligence remains stable
TB: why would exercise reduce age-related decline in brain function?
- increased blood flow
- increase in neural activity
- brain temperature
why are inter-individual differences a source of error in studies?
- between people
- may have cohort that includes different education, exercise status, nutrition
- recruiting same types of people may be impossible
- variability between people
why are intra-individual differences a source of error in studies?
- within a person
- may result in fatigue or changes due to differing times of day
- variability in performance within individuals
- typically greater among older adults
examples of inter-individual differences
- gender
- age
- ethnic background
- anxiety levels
examples of intra-individual differences
- attention
- effort
- fatigue
- performance on a task
types of aging
- chronological
- biological
- functional
- psychological
- social
- biopsychosocial
TB: create an example of someone who is psychologically ‘young’ but functionally ‘old’
a student who is able to adapt to their new learning environment, but may need a cane to walk
TB: create an example of someone who is chronologically ‘old’ but biologically ‘young’
a retired person who maintained their active skills in adulthood
normative aging vs successful aging vs positive aging
normative: what is considered normal/average outcome
successful: what is considered ideal rather than average outcome
positive: ability to find happiness and well-being even in the face of challenges
influences on development
- normative age-graded influences
- normative history-graded influences
- non-normative life events
normative age-graded influences
- biological or environmental events associated with chronological age
- ex. puberty, menopause
- societal expectations
- ex. when one goes to school, married, etc.
normative history-graded influences
- large societal event or evolution of societal structure
- ex. women forced into workforce and made it normal
- socio-cultural influences
- ex. child-rearing practices, religious influences, education
non-normative life events
- not associated with age
- traumatic events that can happen at any age
- ex. car accident
nature vs nurture throughout time
20th century –> largely nature-focused (organismic)
21st century –> largely nurture-focused (behaviourism)
lifestyle influences on development
- nutrition
- exercise
- mental activity
- social engagement
2 theoretical frameworks that focus on adaptation
- SOC model
- ecological model
SOC model
- Baltes & Baltes
involves 3 parts:
- selection - select goals that align with skills
- optimization - optimize environment to attain goal
- compensation - utilize external resources to compensate
- may not need to use both optimization AND compensation
ecological model
- competency vs environmental challenge
negative affect maladaptive behaviour if:
- low competency and high environmental challenge
- high competency and low environmental challenge
positive affect adaptive behaviour if:
- in zone of maximum performance potential
