Chapter 15: Physical And Cognitive Development In Late Adulthood

Front 1

Longetivity

Back 1

The upper boundary of life, which is the maximum number of years an individual can live.

Increased an avg of 31

Front 2

Life expectancy

Back 2

The number of years it will probably be lived by the average person born in a particular year

Front 3

Supercentenarians

Back 3

People alive at 110-119

Front 4

Compression of morbidity

Back 4

Process of staving off high mortality chronic diseases until much later ages than is usually the case in the general population

Women have this kinda stuff in their genes and have better coping strategies for stress.

Front 5

Cataracts

Back 5

Involve a thickening of the lens of the eye that causes vision to become cloudy and distorted

30% of 70 year olds

Front 6

Glaucoma

Back 6

Damage to the optic nerve because of the pressure created by a buildup of fluid in the eye

1% in 70s, 10% in 90s.

Front 7

Macular degeneration

Back 7

A disease that involves deterioration of the macula of the retina which corresponds to the focal center of the visual field.

Would have normal peripheral vision but be unable to see clearly whats in front of them

1 in 25 individuals ages 66-74

1 in 6 individuals ages 75+

Front 8

Arthritis

Back 8

Inflammation of the joints that is accompanied by pain, stiffness, and movement problems

Especially common in older adults

Front 9

Osteoporosis

Back 9

A chronic condition that involves an extensive loss of bone tissue and is the main reason many older adults walk with a marked stoop.

Women are especially vulnerable

Front 10

Explicit memory

Back 10

Memory of facts and experiences that individuals consciously know and can state

Aging linked with a decline in this

Front 11

Implicit memory

Back 11

Memory without conscious recollection

Involves skills and routine procedures that are automatically performed

Less likely to be adversely affected by aging

Front 12

Episodic memory

Back 12

The retention of info about the where and when of life's happenings

Older adults think that they can remember long ago events better than more recent events

Researchers have consistently found that the older the memory is the less accurate it is in older adults

Front 13

Semantic memory

Back 13

A person's knowledge about the world including a person's fields of expertise, general academic knowledge of the sorts learned in school, and everyday knowledge

Often take longer to retrieve this info but usually they can also automatically retrieve it other than very specific information like names

Front 14

Wisdom

Back 14

Expert knowledge about the practical aspects of life that permits excellent judgment about important matters

Front 15

Paul bates conclusions on wisdom

Back 15

1. High levels of wisdom are rare

2. Factors other than age are critical for wisdom to develop to a high level

3. Personality related factors, such as open to new experiences, generativity, and creativity, are better predictors of wisdom than cognitive factors such as intelligence

Front 16

Dementia

Back 16

A global term for any neurological disorder in which the primary symptoms involve a deterioration of mental functioning

Front 17

Alzheimer disease

Back 17

A progressive, irreversible brain disorder characterized by a gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and eventually physical function

Acetylcholine

Front 18

Parkinson's disease

Back 18

A chronic, progressive disease characterized by muscle tremors, slowing of movement, and partial facial paralysis. Affects smell.

Soft slurring speech, shuffling movement. Didnt swing his arms

Dopamine affects this

Front 19

78.9

Back 19

Avg life expectancy

Front 20

120-125

Back 20

Avg life span is ___

Front 21

Life expectancy gender differences

81 in females, 76 in males

Back 21

___ in females, ____ in males

Biggest cause for this is manual labor that leads to more accidents, more hardcore damage to body.

Which leads to disease.

Women tend to have healthier habits.

Front 22

Centenarian

Back 22

Less likely to have disease. Like cancer and heart disease.

Better mental health

Happier across the lifespan

Physically fit earlier

Front 23

5-10%

Back 23

Brain loses ___ of its weight between 20-90 years old

Front 24

Brain volume decreases bc

Back 24

Shrinkage of neurons

lower numbers of synapses

Reduced length of the axons

Areas most likely to lose brain volume are frontal lobes (prefrontal cortex) and hippocampus

Front 25

Hippocampus + how it relates to aging

Back 25

Consolidation of new memories.

Loss of memories. Forget new info. Cant connect it to something. Like forgetting to take medicine.

Front 26

Slowing of function in brain and spinal cord related to

Back 26

Slow reflexes, physical coordination. Moving smoothly, without support.

Sends messages to rest of body and to the brain vice versa. Leads to jerky movements. Leads to falls.

Front 27

Less likely to be affected by aging

Back 27

Sensory processes

Front 28

Myelination

Back 28

Demyelination is happening. So processing/perceptual speed decline is happening because of this

Front 29

Adaptive brain

Back 29

Compensates for some of the things that are being affected by aging.

Reading, exercise, crossword puzzles, almost anything that requires cognition.

Will keep it active and help it last.

Another thing that happens is neurogenesis.

Front 30

Decrease in lateralization

Back 30

Brain is compensating for the fact that both sides arent as functional as they used to be. Have to use both sides

Front 31

Nun study

Back 31

50% of brains showed alzheimers but hasnt affected her everyday life.

Lead very intellectually stimulating lives. Different from women in their generation bc they dont retire alone. Also are all educated, most were teachers too.

Front 32

Hearing loss

Back 32

Directly associated with reduced cognitive functioning

Front 33

40%

Back 33

Lung capacity drops __ between 20-80

Front 34

50%

Back 34

___ difficulty sleeping

Front 35

60% of 65-74 die of cancer or cardiovascular disease

Back 35

___ of 65-74 die of cancer or cardiovascular disease

Front 36

3% adults 65+ live in nursing homes

Back 36

__ adults 65+ live in nursing homes

Front 37

Selective attention declines.

Sustained attention isnt affected in the same way. No difference between older and younger adults

Back 37

What happens to selective and sustained attention

Front 38

Executive Function

Back 38

Declines with the shrinking of prefrontal cortex.

If bad, predicts increased likelyhood of stroke

Front 39

Neurogenesis

Back 39

Only places _________ happens in late adulthood are the Hippocampus and olfactory bulb. Limitation of ________ is they dont last very long. We dunno why it keeps happening, might be related to dementia (parkingsons and Alzheimer's)

Front 40

Men more likely to experience hearing loss, while women are more likely to experience vision loss

Back 40

Men more likely to experience ___ loss, while women are more likely to experience ___ loss

Front 41

At about the same rate

Back 41

Fuctioning of the hippocampus and frontal lobes decline: