Week Twelve - Ageing

Question 1

When does maintenance of the body system start to diminish?

Answer 1

from 50 years

Question 2

What is senescence?

Answer 2

Degenerative phase of ageing

it is universal, progressive and leads to failure of organism

Question 3

What is the cellular theory of ageing?

Answer 3

Continuous exposure to toxins, pollutants, free radicals leads to genetic errors in cell replication

Ageing = more cells with error

Cell error leads to cell death which leads to organism death

Question 4

What is the programming theory of ageing?

Answer 4

Max lifespan is preset by genetic factors

You can shorten your life but the max is predetermined

Question 5

Thing to be careful with in cross-sectional studies?

Answer 5

cohort effects (eg war, famine or an age group) - may overestimate age decline

Question 6

What 2 types of study designs do we use in ageing?

Answer 6

cross-sectional and longitudinal

Question 7

What kind of things decline/change with age?

Answer 7

Motor, sensory and intellectual functioning
Skin, bones and muscles change
CV changes

Question 8

What physical changes occur in the brain as we age?

Answer 8

Brain weight/mass decreases steadily over adulthood but more so after 60

Neuronal loss occurs

Blood flow is decreased

Question 9

Changes in sensation/perception during ageing?

Answer 9

difficulties in processing/interpreting sensory information (can typically compensate for such deficits)

> 2 impairments = issues

Question 10

Losses in sensation/perception take what two forms?

Answer 10

Increased sensory thresholds (need louder, more stimulating)

Decreased sensitivity to low-level stimulation

Question 11

What declines occur in vision?

Answer 11

All components of visual system change with age

• pupils are smaller, less adaptive
• lens becomes denser, less flexible

visual acuity steadily declines in old age (more so in women)

Question 12

Ageing and attention

Answer 12

Older adults less able to divide attention

Also problems selectively attending to stimuli while ignoring others

Question 13

Hearing and ageing

Answer 13

hearing issues 3x more likely than visual

age-related hearing problems originate in inner ear (more men)

Question 14

Speech perception is dependent upon? (2)

Answer 14

hearing and cognitive processes

Question 15

To understand conversation, what is important?

Answer 15

listening conditions and no increased attentional demands

Question 16

When is auditory perception more difficult?

Answer 16

When the task is novel/complex and listening conditions are poor

Question 17

Taste/small and ageing changes

Answer 17

general decline in sensitivity to taste (men more) and odour (worsened by disease, smoking)

Question 18

Touch/temperature/pain and ageing changes

Answer 18

Touch is gradually lost from middle childhood

Temperature declines later in adulthood

Pain is less for weaker but not strong

Question 19

physical/psychosocial reasons for OA doing poor on tests?

Answer 19

Nervous, visual loss, arthritis

Question 20

Cognitive mechanics and ageing

Answer 20

Basic memory processes decline but mnemonics help

Question 21

What is episodic memory?

Answer 21

Retention of information about the where and when of happenings - declines in OA

Question 22

What is semantic memory?

Answer 22

Knowledge about the world - OA take longer to retrieve but usually successful

Question 23

Working memory and perceptual speed…

Answer 23

declines with age

Question 24

What is explicit memory?

Answer 24

Memory of facts and experiences that individuals consciously know - declines with age

Question 25

What is implicit memory?

Answer 25

Memory without conscious recollection - declines with age

Question 26

Executive functioning changes?

Answer 26

Declines with age

Question 27

What are some non-cog factors that help memory (3)?

Answer 27

health
education
SES

Question 28

What remains intact with age?

Answer 28

Practical intelligence and expertise - real world problems increase

Question 29

What is dementia?

Answer 29

A collective term for a syndrome associated with NDD that cause the deterioration of brain function

Question 30

Most common dementia?

Answer 30

AD

Question 31

Potential causes of AD?

Answer 31

• genetics
• particular chromosomes
• production of amyloid
• physical factors ie head injury
• toxin exposure

no known cure

Question 32

Stages of AD and their symptoms

Answer 32

Early stages: problems remembering recent info

After several years: speech problems

Middle stages: personality changes, irritability

Later stages: difficulties with motor movement

Question 33

What shift have we seen in burden of disease?

Answer 33

Acute to chronic

Question 34

Carers for those with dementia often report?

Answer 34

deficits in own health, QOL and economic security, mood, stress

Question 35

What has been introduced for carers?

Answer 35

CBT both individual (expensive) and group

Question 36

Most common MH problem in OA?

Answer 36

Depression (high prev in women)

Question 37

What forms a critical part of adult identity?

Answer 37

work roles (gives structure, meaning and purpose to life)

Question 38

Older workers tend to have?

Answer 38

Lower absenteeism, fewer accidents, higher job satisfaction

Question 39

Influence of retirement?

Answer 39

Marks passage into the later stages of adulthood - can be related to psychological well-being

Question 40

Which adults adjust best to retirement?

Answer 40

healthy and active
adequate income
educated
extended social network

Question 41

Differences between widow/widower and married people?

Answer 41

W/W show lower psychological well-being

Question 42

Coping responses for bereavement are encouraged by?

Answer 42

availability of social relationships

better general health

Question 43

Which gender have higher rates of depression following widowment

Answer 43

men (have further to fall as married men are less depressed than married women)

Question 44

Why do widowed men have more struggles?

Answer 44

widowed men less common

often lose interaction with still-married friends

Question 45

Health outcomes for widowed men/women?

Answer 45

Declines in health more for men than women

Due to

• poor nutrition (women did cooking)
• other things

Question 46

Life satisfaction trends with age?

Answer 46

Dip in early-mid adulthood but peaks again as we age