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PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN LATE ADULTHOOD - Coggle Diagram
PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN LATE ADULTHOOD
PRIMARY AGING
gradual, inevitable process of aging
occurs throughout years, despite efforts to slow it
SECONDARY AGING
results from disease, abuse and disuse
factors within a person's control
FUNCTIONAL AGE
How well a person functions physically and socially
LONGEVITY AND AGING
gerontology and geriantrics
life expectancy: length of life, based on age and health status
longevity: actual length of life
life span: longest period that members of species can live
THEORIES OF AGING
Genetic programming theories | variable rate theories
programmed senescence | wear and tear
endocrine | free radical
immunological | rate of living, autoimmune
PROLONGEVITY: EXPANDING THE LIFE SPAN
SURVIVAL CURVES: supported limited life span
HAYFLICK LIMIT: estimated biological limit of human at 110 years
METABOLISM: limited calorie intake may extend life span
THE AGING BRAIN
Brain loses weight over time: 10% by age 90
due to: shrinking neuron size in cerebral cortex, loss of axons, dendrites and synapses
it is more likely in: overweight women, uneducated people, people who do not exercise, those with diets low in fruits and vegs
OLDER EYES
Need more light to see, are sensitive to glare, have trouble locating signs, have trouble negotiating driving skills.
COMMON VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS
CATARACTS: cloudy or opaque areas of eyes
AGE RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION: retina loses ability to distinguish details.
GALUCOMA: irreversible damage to optic nerve caused by increased pressure
PHYSICAL LOSSES OF OLD AGE
Diminished in: strength, endurance, balance, reaction time, sleep
CHRONIC CONDITIONS AND DISABILITIES
Heart disease, cancer, stroke, lower respiratory disease, diabetes, influenza/pneumonia,
MENTAL PROBLEMS
depression, dementia: physiologically caused cognitive and behavioral decline
CAUSES OF DEMENTIA
Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease, multi - infarct dementia (MD): caused by a series of small strokes
SYMPTOMS OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
Memory impairment, deterioration of language
deficits in visual and spatial processing, repeating of questions
everyday tasks unfinished or forgotten, personality change
irritability or anxiety, lack of concentration
CAUSES AND RISKS
neurofibrillary tangles: twisted masses of dead neurons
amyloid plaque: biuildup of nonfunctioning tissue
strongly heritable, lifestyle factors
TREATMENT AND PREVENTION
Cholinesterase inhibitor: aricept
immunotherapy, behavioral therapies, proper nourishment and fluid intake, exercise and physical therapy
MEASURING OLDER ADULTS' INTELLIGENCE
wechsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS).
use it or lose it: indicates tremendous variation, cognitive performance can be improved, cognitive deterioration may be related to disuse.
CHANGES IN INFORMATION - PROCESSING ABILITIES
DECLINES: abilities needed for complex new skills, ability to switch focus or attention
IMPROVEMENTS: skills that depend on habits and knowledge
MEMORY LOSS AND BRAIN FUNCTIONING (AREAS)
HIPPOCAMPUS:episodic memory
FRONTAL LOBES: encoding and retrieval
PREFRONTAL CORTEX: working memory
ENCODING, STORAGE, RETRIEVAL
encoding: older adults are less efficient, requires creating new associations.
storage: increase in "storage failure" with age
retrieval: older adults have trouble, do better in recognition than recall.