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Lecture17Notes April19,2016 CHAPTER17:LateAdulthood PhysicalandCognitiveDevelopment USDemographics • 1in8areover65 • By2050=25% • Oldestold o 85andover o fastestgrowing § lifeexpectancycontinuestoincrease,somorepeopleare enteringthisgroupthanleaving § doubledinthelast2decades § stillincreasing Gerontologists Specialistswhostudyaging Ageism • Prejudice&discriminationofolderpeople o Behavioralinterpretations o Negativeattitudesaboutcompetenceandattractiveness § Reflectsinthewaythey’retreated § Genderdoublestandardcontinues • Olderwomen=unflatteringterms • Agingmen=maturitythatenhancestheirstatus o Jobdiscrimination o Becomesaselffulfillingprophecythathinderstheir performance AgingTheories • Geneticprogrammingtheory o Ourbody’sDNAgeneticcodecontainsabuildintimelimitfor thereproductionofhumancellsAfteracertainamountoftime hasgoneby–determinedgenetically-thecellsarenolonger abletodivideandtheindividualbeginstodeteriorate o “deathgene” § geneticmaterialcontainsa“deathgene”thatis programmedtodirectthebodytodeteriorateanddie Lecture17Notes April19,2016 o CellsintheBodyonlycanonlyduplicateacertainnumberof times § Throughoutourlivesnewcellsarebeingmadethrough cellduplicationtorepairandreplenishallofourvarious tissuesandorgans.Accordingtothisviewthegenetic instructionscanonlybereadacertainnumberoftimes beforeineligible.Theseincomprehensiblecellsstop producingandbecausethebodyisnotbeingrenewedat thesamerate,peoplebegintoexperiencebodily deteriorationandultimatelydeath o Telomeres § Eachtimecellsdividethetelomeres(tinyprotectiveareas ofDNAatthetipofchromosomes)growshorter.Whena cell’stelomerehasjustaboutdisappeared,thecellstops replicating,makingitsusceptibletodamageand producingsignsofaging • Wear-andTearTheory o Mechanicalfunctionsofthebodysimplywearoutwithage,like carsdo FountainOfYouth • Telomeretherapy o Telomeresgrowshortereachtimeacelldividesandeventually disappearendingcellreplication o Scientistsbelievethatiftelomerescanbelengthened,age- relatedproblemscouldbeslowed. • ReducingFreeradicalswithantioxidantDrugs o Freeradicalsareunstablemoleculesthatareby-productof normalcellfunctioningthatmaydriftthroughthebody, damagingothercellsandleadtoaging o Drugshaveyettohavebeenproventobeeffectivebutinthe meantimenutritionistsurgeadietrichinantioxidantvitamins, whicharefoundinfruitsandvegies. • RestrictingCalories o ResearchersrananexperimentonRatsandfoundthattherats fedonanextremelylowcalorieintake(30-50%theirnormal intake)oftenlivedupto30%longerthanbottlefedrats o Researchershopetodevelopadrugthatmimictheeffectsof calorierestrictionwithoutforcingpeopletofeelhungryallthe time Lecture17Notes April19,2016 • ReplacingWornOutOrgans o Removalofdamagedordiseasedorgansandreplacingthem withbetterfunctioningones o Transplantsfrequentlyfailbecausethebodyrejectstheforeign tissue § Toovercomethisissueresearcherssuggestthatthe replacementorgansbegrownfromarecipientscloned cells,therebysolvingtherejectionproblem PhysicalDisorders • Osteoporosis o Aconditioninwhichthebonebecomebrittlefragileandthin, oftenbroughtaboutbyalackofestrogeninthediet o Affects25%ofwomenover60 o Primarycauseofbrokenbonesintheelderly o Largelypreventablewithahighcalcium/proteindiet o Canbetreatedwithdrugs • Arthritis o Inflammationofoneormorejoints o Afflictsroughly50%ofolderpeople o Cancausepainfulswellinginvariouspartsofthebodyancanbe disabling § Suffersfindthemselvesunabletocarryoutsimple everydaytaskssuchasunscrewingajar o Aspirinandotherdrugscanrelievesomeoftheswellingand reducepainbuttheconditioncannotbecured • Hypertension o Highbloodpressure o Doesnothavemanysymptoms o Canresultindeteriorationofthebloodvesselsandheartand canraiseariskofcerebrovasculardiseaseorstrokeifleft untreated DeadlyDisorders • Duetolong-termbehaviorpatterns o Heartdisease § Atherosclerosis § Hypertension § Stroke Lecture17Notes April19,2016 o Cancer § Lung § Colon PsychologicalHealthProblems • Majordepression o Intensefeelingsofsadness,pessimism,hopelessness o Couldbeduetothefactthattheysuffercumulativelosseswith thedeathofspousesandfriends.Theirowndeclininghealthand physicalcapabilitiesmaymakethemfeellessindependentand incontrol • Druginducedpsychosis o Broughtaboutbycombinationsofdrugstheymaybetakingfor variousmedicalconditions • Dementia o Mostcommonmentaldisorderoftheelderly o Coversseveraldiseaseseachofwhichincludesseriousmemory lossaccompaniedbydeclinesinothermentalfunctioning § Epilepsy § HIV § MS § Postbrainirradiation § Alcoholrelateddementia § Hydrocephalus § Vasculardementia § Parkinson’sdisease § Alzheimer’s Alzheimer’s • Symptoms o Unusualforgetfulness § Firstsign o Memorieseffected o Totalconfusion o Lossofvoluntarycontrolofmusclesandarebedridden § Finalstages o Behavioraldisturbances • Causes o BetaAmyloidPrecursorProtein Lecture17Notes April19,2016 § Aproteinthatnormallyhelpstheproductionandgrowth ofneurons.Goesawryproducinglargeclumpsofcells thattriggerinflammationanddeteriorationofnervecells. • Brainshrinksandseveralareasofthe hippocampusandfrontalandtemporallobesshow deterioration. • Certainneuronsdiewhichleadstosshortageof variousneurotransmitters o Don’tknowwhattriggersitinthefirstplace § Genetics(hereditary) § Non-geneticfactorsincreasesusceptibility • Highbloodpressure • diet § VirusesDysfunctionsoftheimmunesystem • Treatment o Nocure o Dealsonlywithsymptoms o Medications § Anti-inflammatorydrugs § Preservationofabilities o Caregiving § Independentliving § Financialmanagement § Treatmentconsent CognitiveDevelopment • Intelligencedeclineswithage o Misconception o Overallintelligenceremainsfairlystable • TestingProblems o Cohorteffects § Influencesattributabletogrowingupinaparticularera o Longitudinalstudies SlowReactionTime • PeripheralSlowingHypothesis o Theorysuggestingthatoverallprocessingspeeddeclinesinthe peripheralnervoussystemwithincreasingage Lecture17Notes April19,2016 § PNSencompassesthenervesthatbranchoutfromthe spinalcordandbrainandreachtheextremitiesofthe body o Takeslongerforinformationfromtheenvironmenttoreachthe brainandlongerforcommandsfromthebraintobetransmitted tothebody’smuscles • GeneralizedSlowingHypothesis o Processinginallpartsofthenervoussystem,includingthe brain,islessefficient o Slowingoccursthroughoutthebody,includingtheprocessingof bothsimpleandcomplexstimuliandthetransmissionof commandstothemusclesofthebody Schaie’sStudy • Cross-sequentialstudy o Nouniformpatternofchangeforallintellectualabilities o Minimaldeclinesuntilage80 o Individualdifference § Somebegintoshowdeclinesintheir30swhilesomedo notexperienceanyuntiltheyareintheir70s.infacta1/3 ofthoseintheir70sscoredhighertheavgyoungadult • EnvironmentalAndCulturalDifference o Nochronicdiseases o HigherSES o Intellectuallystimulatingenvironment o Flexiblepersonalitystyle o Marriagetobrightspouse **ALLLISTEDHELPPUTOFFDECLINE** WhatCanWeDo • Stimulation,practiceandmotivationcanmaintainmentalabilities • Growthincognitiveabilitiesisrelatedtoimprovementsinpractical intelligenceandtaskswithdailyliving • Plasticity o Thedegreetowhichadevelopingstructureorbehavioris susceptibletoexperience o Illustratethatthereisnothingfixedaboutthechangesthatoccur inintellectualabilitiesduringlateadulthood o “useitorloseit” Lecture17Notes April19,2016 Memory • EpisodicMemories o Relatetospecificlifeexperiences o Example: § Recallingthefirstyearyouvisitednewyorkcity o LOST • SematicMemory o Generalknowledgeandfacts o Examples: § 2+2=4 § CapitaloftheUS o UNAFFECTED • ImplicitMemory o Memoriesaboutwhichpeoplearenotconsciouslyaware o Example: § Howtorideabike o UNAFFECTED • ShorttermMemory o LOST • AutobiographicalMemory o Memoriesofinformationaboutone’sownlife o PollyannaPrinciple § Pleasantmemoriesaremorelikelytoberecalledthan unpleasantones § Peopletendtoforgetinformationabouttheirpastthatis notcongruentwiththewaytheycurrentlyview themselves.Theyaremorelikelytomakethematerial thattheydorecall“fit”theircurrentconceptionof themselves • Example: o Strictparentwhoforgetsthatshegotdrunk atherhighschoolprom • WhyDoesMemoryChange o EnvironmentalFactors § Olderpeoplearemoreaptthanyoungeronestotakethe kindsofprescriptiondrugsthathindermemory § Retirees,nolongerfacingintellectualchallengesfrom theirjobsmaybecomelesspracticedinusingmemory § Motivationtorecallinfomaybelowerthanpreviously accountingforlowerperformanceontasksinvolving memory Lecture17Notes April19,2016 o InformationDeficits § Changesininformationprocessingcapabilities • Speedofinformationprocessingmaydecline § Olderadultsconcentrateonnewmateriallesseffectively thanyoungerindividualsandhavegreaterdifficulty payingattentiontoappropriatestimuliandorganizing materialinmemory § Memorydeclinesareduetochangesintheabilitytopay attentiontoandorganizetasksinvolvingmemoryskills § Lessefficienttoretrieveinformationfrommemory o BiologicalFactors § Memorychangesarearesultofbrainandbody deterioration § Declinesinepisodicmemorymayberelatedtothe deteriorationofthefrontallobesofthebrainorreduction inestrogen § Somestudiesshowalossofcellsinthehippocampus whichiscriticaltomemory WellnessinLateAdulthood • Dependsonmanyfactors o Genetics o Lifestyle o Economicwellbeing o Psychologicalfactors PromotingGoodHealth • Eathealthy • Exercise • Avoidthreatstohealth o Smoking • Extendpeoplesactivelifespans
