PSYC 3684 1st Edition Lecture 22 Outline of Last Lecture I. VygotskyII. Zone of Proximal DevelopmentOutline of Current Lecture III. Cognition and Old AgeCurrent LectureOlder Age and CognitionPost-formal Thought:- Pragmatismo Real problems contain complexities and inconsistencies that cannot be addressedwith the logic of formal operations Labouvie-Vief (1982, 1990, 1998, 2006)- Relativistic thinking = knowledge depends on each individual’s perspective and assumptions- Adolescents are absolute thinkers- Adults say “it depends”Cognitive Changes in Old Age:- Schaie (1956): cross-sectional studyo N = 500 ages 20-70o Cognitive decline in age Clearly your cognition declines in ageSchaie continued:- Schaie (1996, 2006): cross-sequential design (Seattle Longitudinal Study)o Followed participants over time and added new samples every 7 yearso Longitudinal data suggest much less declineo Potential practice effects and effects due to attritionThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. Grade Buddy is best Used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.o People don’t want to come into the 5th assessment because maybe they know they are cognitively declining and they don’t want to look ‘stupid’Overall Conclusions from the Seattle Longitudinal Study:- Developmental effects:o Perceptual speed declines linearly with ageo Most other cognitive skills show moderate decline after midlifeo Fluid intelligence declines more than crystalized- Cohort effectso Recent cohorts perform better than earlier generations on most tasks- Individual differencesZach’s (TA) Lecture on Memory and Alzheimer’s- Procedural memories:o Knowing howo Like riding a bike or hula hoopingo Hippocampal independent because they do not rely on it- Somantic memories:o General knowledgeo Knowing a lot about birds if you like them- Episodic memories:o Life episodesRetrograde Amnesia: the inability to recall past events or informationAnterograde Amnesia: the inability to form new memoriesDementia: progressive impairment in cognition and rememberingAlzheimer’s Disease:- 70% of Dementia cases- 1 in 3 seniors die with Alzheimer’s- 6th leading cause of death- no treatments- major symptomso memory losso loss of cognition- progressive onsetProgressive Symptoms:- Earlyo Deficiency in recall of newer memorieso Difficulty in communicationo Absentmindedness- Moderateo LTM impairment- inability to recognize loved oneso Irritability, confusion, delusionso Loss of independence- Lateo Complete dependenceo Complete/near complete loss of speecho Emotional apathy, aggression, exhaustion- A diagnosis is essentially a death sentence (unfortunately)- No cure for itAlzheimer’s- parts of the brain literally start shrinkingPlaques and Tangles:- the brain of someone with the disease have weird plaques (look like little rocks) outside of the nerve cellso tangles in there too- key defining features of Alzheimer’s- for prevention and treatment, these should be the targets essentially- lots of scientific research going onAmyloid Plaques:- form outside of the cells- insoluble (cannot be removed)- disrupt neuronal communication- cause brain inflammation- they cannot be removedTangles Disrupt the cell Highway System:- clumps in cellsCombination:- Tau disrupts microtubuleso Neuron can not transport nutrients anymoreo Slowly dies - Amyloid Plaques formo Can’t be removed or cleaned upo Trigger brain inflammation- Combine the twoo Progressive, irreversible neuro-degenerationCost to society- Financialo Cost of care $60Ko $226 billion in 2015 for the nation (wow)- Individualo Progressive decline in quality of lifeo Death sentenceo Complete loss of independence- Loved oneso Stress of providing the careo Inability to helpCurrent Treatments:- no current treatment that can slow, prevent, or cure the development of Alzheimer’s- 4 approved drugso don’t actually treat diseaseo just help the symptomso boost cell to cell communicationFuture Research:- early diagnosis is best- targeted treatment optionso prevent plaques BACE inhibitor in stage 3 trialso Tangles HSP90 inhibitors fix toxic TAU, restabilizes
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