Compares brain functioning of healthy older adults with adults displaying various pathological disorders in the brainCorrelational approachAttempts to link measures of cognitive performance of brain structure or functionOlder people have less white matterMyelin sheathConduction of neural signalsActivation imaging approachAttempts to directly link functional brain activity with cognitive behavioral data.Compensatory changesNeuroscience toolsUnderstanding aging of brain using neuroscience toolsStructureDiffusion tensor imaging (DTI)Visualize white matter pathwaysDiffusion of waterAgingDecreases prefrontal white matterExecutive functioningDecreased hippocampal volumeMemoryDecreased cerebellar volumeMRI- magnetic resonance imagingPicture of brain structuresTumor diagnosisCAT/CTFunctionEEGElectrodes measure electrical brainwavesMEGMeasures magnetic fieldPETInjected with dyeShows areas of the brain in usefMRImeasures brain activityAge-related changes: physicalShrinkageMarked shrinkageHippocampusPrefrontal cortexCerebellumNo shrinkageSensory corticesVisual cortexAmygdalaVentromedial prefrontal cortexAge related changes: neurochemicalDopaminergic systemEffortful processingWMAttentionPlanningMemory“senile” labelstudypostmortem analysesneuropsychological patient studiessimulated modelingimaging of DA activityAge-related changes: functionalfunctional imagingagingreduced activationunder recruitmentprefrontalmedial-temporal areasanterior cingulate cortexWMIncreased activationOver-recruitmentDuring cognitive tasksMemoryEfficiencyNeural plasticity and agingNeural plasticityNeurogenesisNeural stem cellsChanging environmentRichness and amount of stimuliPractice and brain changesMnemonicsMethod of lociTechnologySymbolic logicSocio-emotional agingPositivity effectAmygdala and positive stimuliEmotional regulationCognitive resourcesEmotional meaning from lifeWhat is gerontology?The study of aging from maturity through old age, as well as the study of older adults as a special groupAgeismAging stereotypesPhysicalEx. Most people over 65 are physically impaired. Ex. Large percentages live in nursing homesFact: only 5% of older adults live in nursing homesCognitiveEx. people over 65 are unable to think clearly, remember well, or learn new things. A large percentage is “senile”Fact: only 5-7% have Alzheimer’sCrystallized: remembering words, definitions, fats etc.VS.Fluid: being able to perform tasks etc.Alzheimer’s: type of dementiaDementia: broadEmotionalEx. people over 65 are unhappyFact: rates of many emotional disorders are at their lowest among people over 65Sense of fulfillmentSocialPeople over 65 are isolatedAge sensitivityDevelop age empathyThe meaning of ageChronological age (function of the calendar)Time or age dependent processesNot result of age itselfThe aging processPrimary agingNatural process of agingThe passage of timeSecondary agingEnvironment, biological effects, etc.Parkinson’s diseaseTertiary agingRapid losses that occur shortly before deathTerminal dropThe life-span perspectiveTwo phasesEarly phase- childhood, adolescenceRapid age-related increases in peoples size and abilitiesLater phase- young adulthood, middle age, old ageChanges in size=slow, abilities continue to develop as people continue to adapt to their environments4 key featuresmulti-directionalitydevelopment involves both growth and declineas people grow in one area, they may lose in another at different ratesnon-lineargross motorphysicalintelligence (IQ)fluid vs. crystallizedplasticityones capability is not predetermined or concretemany skills can be trained or improved with practiceteach an old dog new tricksgaining skillstechnologyinteraction with environment (IQ)Flynn effect: every decade, the average IQ increases by 15Neural plasticityhistorical contexteach of us develops within a particular set of circumstances determined by the historical time in which we are born, and the culture in which we grow uplocationculturehistorical eventsex. the great depressionmultiple causationhow people develop results from a wide variety of forcesbiological, psychological, sociocultural, life-cyclepersonenvironmentnature vs. nurturegrowth->maintenance->loss regulationfeatures of life-span developmentage related changesreduction: amount and quality of biologically based resourcesincreased: amount and quality of cultural resources for continued growthdecline: efficiency with which cultural resources are usedlack of “old-age friendly” supportDemographics of agingUS trendsEducation & moneyFuture adults=more educatedBetter educated people live longerLongevity of lifeMore moneyAccess to good health careHealth/diseaseSocial securityFear that SS and pension systems will be drained, and health care will become increasingly unaffordableGlobal trendsIndustrialized countriesJapanIncreased number of elderly due to declining birth rateStrain on country’s resourcesDeveloping countriesIncrease in older adult populationStrain on resourcesImplications for health careOdds of older living parentDaily expenditureEconomic growth and workersBirth rateSupply and demandDistribution of aging populationGraphSocial cohesionPerspectivesIndividualismCollectivismForces of developmentBiologicalIncludes all genetic and health-related factors that affect developmentEx. menopause, wrinklingPsychologicalInclude all internal, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and personality factors that affect developmentHelps make people uniqueSocioculturalInclude interpersonal, societal, cultural, and ethnic factors that affect developmentBio-psychosocial frameworkOrganizes biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces on human developmentEach person is the result of a unique combo of the 3 forcesLife-cycle forcesReflect differences in how the same event of combo of bio, psycho, and sociocultural forces effect people at different life pointsInterrelations among the forcesCohortA group of people born at the same point or specific time span in historical timeGreat depression3 influencesnormative age-graded influencesexperiences caused by biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces that occur to most people of a particular agelife storynormative history-graded influencesevents that most people in a specific culture experience at the same timeevents may be biological (epidemics)psychological (stereotypes)sociocultural (changing attitudes toward sexuality)often give a generation a unique identityex. baby boom generation, millennialsnon-normative