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Chapter 8: Adult & Aging Brain - Coggle Diagram
Chapter 8: Adult & Aging Brain
Cognitive changes
Nondeclarative memory remains intact
Working memory (short term memory) also declines with age
Declarative memory (includes episodic and semantic memory) declines with age
Selective attention decline with age: ability to focus on particular stimulus and filter out distractions
Divided attention decline with age: ability to focus on two tasks at the same time
Structural changes
Prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, hippocampus worsen in age
When aging, neurons shrink and retract, and dendrites decrease in complexity, and myelin is lost
Cerebral cortex also thins as it ages
Temporal and frontal lobes decline the most
Neuronal changes
Dendrites shrink with age and branches become less complex, and dendritic spines are lost, which are small ends that receive chemical signals
These spines are highly plastic
Working memory requires high degree of plasticity so loss of spines contributes to degradation of working memory in aging
Chemical changes
The amount of neurotransmitters and receptors decline with age
DNA damage that accumulates due to oxidative stress
More oxidative damage in brains of Alzheimer’s
Immune dysfunction
Microglia becomes more reactive with age, increasing inflammatory response which is harmful to brain health
Excessive buildup of abnormal proteins contributes to Alzheimers and Parkinons
Cellular machinery used to breakdown and recycle aged cells degrades over time
Healthy aging
Vitamin C and E, omega 3 fatty acids, caloric restriction are beneficial
Exercise improves neuroplasticity and neurogenesis