Week 3: Cognitive Aging Flashcards
What is Cognition
Set of all mental abilities and processes related to knowledge, attention,
memory and working memory, judgement and evaluation, reasoning, problem solving,
decision making, comprehension, and production of language.
Cognitive Health
CDC defines cognitive health as a brain that can perform all the mental processes that are collectively known as cognition, including the ability to learn new things, intuition, judgment, language, and remembering
Cognitive Non-Linear changes occurring during aging
-Memory
-Attention
-Language
-Intelligence
-Brain changes
-“everyday functioning in familiar environments”
Brain Reserve
“passive” form of capacity that is thought to depend on the structural properties of the brain. The brain’s physical or structural components (i.e., size, number of neurons and connections)
As an individual gets older, if the structures of their brain change, they may have less brain reserve
Less brain reserve = lower threshold for the expression of functional impairments, more likely to develop symptoms and they progress at a faster rate
*Level of brain reserve (BR) decreases over time no matter what, but even more with cognitive disorders. At threshold is where symptoms are diagnosed or assessed for dementia and Alzheimer’s
Cognitive Reserve
“active” mechanism for coping with brain pathology. The brain’s ability to cope with damage or changes, such as aging or neurological disease, by utilizing pre-existing cognitive processes and neural networks more efficiently.
How the brain is actively changing throughout time
Individuals with higher CR usually have higher IQs, higher income
*Helps maintain cognitive function despite brain pathology
General Aging Trends (4)
- As person ages, vocabulary doesn’t decrease as much
- Memory has a steady decline
- Cognitive speed increases a little and then decreases (both memory and speed have greatest decline over time)
- Individuals that were more physically active slowed the rate of decline
Aging and Long-Term Memory, Neuroplasticity
-As people age, they may experience slower processing speed and difficulty retrieving memories, but not all memory decline is related to diseases like Alzheimer’s
Neuroplasticity: Engaging in mentally stimulating activities can help maintain long-term memory function.
*The hippocampus plays a crucial role within the neural systems for long- term memory, A reduction in hippocampal volume may contribute to age-related cognitive decline.
Types of Long-Term Memory (2)
- Episodic Memory (personal experiences) tends to decline with age
- Semantic Memory (facts and knowledge) usually remains stable longer
Crystallized Intelligence
What we know from experience, culture, learning and education. Used when we try to solve problems we have seen before.
-Tasks that tap well-learned skills, language, & retrieval of well-learned material rely more on crystallized intelligence.
-E.g.: verbal meaning, word association, social judgement, number skills
Fluid Intelligence
Raw processing speed, mental quickness, abstract reasoning… used when we attempt to solve problems we have never seen before
-Tasks that involve quick thinking, info manipulation, activities involving allocation and reallocation of attention—rely mainly on fluid intelligence.
-E.g. tests of memory, spatial relations, abstract & inductive reasoning, free recall, mental calculations, morals/ethics/worldview
Crystallized vs. Fluid Intelligence Trends
“Fluid intelligence develops quickly in early ages but then slowly start to decline. In contrast, crystallized intelligence develops much more slowly but also suffers from a lesser decline later on.”
Fluid intelligence decreases because older adults have a slower processing speed and control related to perception and perception deficits.
Crystallized intelligence stays stable and can improve with experience
Factors Affecting Cognitive Needs
-Blood pressure great than 140/90 mmHg
-Genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease
-Elevated cholesterol levels
-Inflammation
-Myocardial infarction
-Diabetes
-Stroke
-Depression + anxiety
-Alcohol consumption
-Poor quality of sleep
-Low physical activity
-Social isolation
-Social determinants of health such as education and income
Dementia
-Describes a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with your daily life
-Results in Cognitive and Psychological changes
*Caused by damage to or loss of nerve cells and their connections in the brain (neurodegeneration)- damage and death of brains’ neurons
*Severity dependent on types of neurons and brain regions affected and type of dementia
Alzheimer’s= 60-80%
Lewy Body dementia= 5-10%
Vascular dementia= 5-10%
Frontotemporal dementia= 5-10%
Other: Parkinson’s, Huntington’s
Dementia and Co-morbidities
Comorbidity= has 2 diseases
Individuals with dementia have a higher rate of having a comorbidity, or multiple comorbidities (almost double the chance than those without dementia)
-multiple comorbidities have negative health outcomes and makes it harder to diagnose and help person
Dementia Stats
-By 2030, Canada could have a 51% increase in the number of new dementia cases a year (Compared to 2020)
-As population is aging, people are more likely to get dementia or other diseases that impact dementia (comorbidities), and there is more developed technology to diagnose dementia so more and more cases.
*Indigenous and minority populations significant increase in the future
*Estimated 61.8% of persons living with dementia were female.
