FAD3220 Chapter 17 Physical and Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood Class Notes Graying of the Population We now have more people in late adulthood than ever By 2030 1 out of 8 people will be in late adulthood Results from o Declines in fertility o Economic growth o Better nutrition o Healthier lifestyles o Improved control of diseases o Advances in technology and medicine Primary aging gradual inevitable process of bodily deterioration throughout life Secondary aging aging process that results from disease and bodily abuse and are often preventable working w heavy machinery smoking stress Life expectancy age to which a person in a particular cohort is statistically likely to live Longevity length of an individual s life Life span the longest period that members of a species can live unknown and will probably rise due to technology Longevity Aging Trends Women typically live longer than men People in developed countries live longer than in undeveloped countries People in more impoverished areas of the U S do not live as long as those who live in more prosperous areas Senescence period marked by declines in bodily function associated with aging Genetic programming theories normal developmental timetable built into the body Variable rate theories processes vary from person to person influenced by internal and external environment o Wear and tear free radical rate of living autoimmune Physical Changes Skin thins pales and wrinkles Hair thins turns gray or white Bones are less dense Fate and muscles shrink o Osteoporosis bones develop pores holes o Shrinking in stature o Hump stature Most prevalent in small women b c they have less muscle Organ Changes Immune system may be depressed Digestive system remains efficient Heart rhythm becomes sower and more irregular Reserve capacity backup capacity that helps body systems function to their utmost limits in times of stress o This declines in late adulthood The Aging Brain In healthy individuals changes in the aging brain are very subtle Brain gradually diminishes in volume and weight decrease in number density of neurotransmitters Myelin sheath thins Older brains can grow more new cells brain is not completely deteriorating Sensory Function sign Need more light to see more sensitive to glare trouble locating and reading o Cataracts cloudy opaque areas in lens of eye causing blurring o Age related macular degeneration degenerating eye muscles o Glaucoma change in pressure of the eye can lead to blindness Hearing loss more prevalent in men Physical Functioning Strength endurance balance and reaction time decrease Tend to sleep less and dream less than before Older adults continue to have sex but their may be difficulties associated w it health medicine physical disability Leading Causes of Death Chronic o Heart Disease o Cancer o Stroke o Chronic Lower respiratory disease o Diabetes o Flu pneumonia usually asymptomatic and more problematic due to weakened immune system Mental Problems Depression o Chronic illness disability o Cognitive decline o Divorce separation widowhood death of family members and friends Dementia deterioration in cognitive and behavioral functioning due to physiological causes o Alzheimer s Disease degenerative brain disorder o Parkinson s Disease degenerative neurological disorder Memory Slowing of central nervous system may slow down information processing Sensory semantic feeling procedural memory appear nearly as efficient in older adults Working memory and ability to recall specific events or recently learned Older adults have more problems w oral word retrieval and spelling than information is less efficient younger adults Grammatical complexity and content of speech decline o Slower talking simpler words Book Notes Reflect all bolded main information not presented in class Ageism prejudice or discrimination based on age Activities of Daily Living ADLs essential activities that support survival such as eating dressing bathing and getting around the house Functional aging measure of a person s ability to function as effectively in his or her physical and social environment in comparison w others of the same chronological age Gerontology study of aged and the process of aging Geriatrics branch of medicine concerned w processes of aging and medical conditions associated w old age Free radicals highly unstable oxygen atoms formed during metabolism conversion of food and oxygen to energy which react w and can damage cell membranes cell proteins fats carbs and DNA o Accumulates with age Autoimmunity tendency of aging body to mistake its own tissue for foreign invaders and to attack and destroy them Survival Curves percentages of people or animals that live to various ages Supports the idea of biological limit to the lifespan This means that regardless of fitness and health maximum life span is not much higher today this age is 100 years Hayflick limit human cells will divide in a laboratory no more than 50 times and is genetically controlled o This means that there may be a biological limit to the lifespan of human cells Hayflick estimated the limit of human life to 110 years People have lived longer than this Causes and Risk Factors of Alzheimer s disease Neurofibrillary tangles twisted masses of protein fibers found in the brain of person w Alzheimer s Amyloid plaque waxy chunks of tissue also found in their brain Cognitive reserve hypothesized fund of energy that may enable a deteriorating brain to continue to function normally Wechler Adult Intelligence Scale intelligence test for adults that yields a verbal and performance score as well as a combined score Intelligence Long Term Memory Episodic memory long term memory of specific experiences or events linked to time and place Semantic memory long term memory of general factual knowledge social customs and language Procedural memory motor skills habits and ways of doing things which can be recalled w o conscious effort
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