Chapter 14The Personal Context of Later Life: Physical, Cognitive, and Mental Health Issues

Chapter 14The Personal Context of Later Life: Physical, Cognitive, and Mental Health Issues

Learning Objectives

What are Older Adults Like?

·  Describe how the shape of the population pyramid has changed since 1900.

·  Describe how the population of developing countries is changing.

·  Describe the composition of the future older adult population in terms of gender, ethnicity, and education.

·  Describe how prepared the United States is for the financial strain of increased numbers of elderly.

·  Define the average life expectancy and describe the factors that have led to its increase.

·  Define average life expectancy, useful life expectancy, and maximum life expectancy.

·  Describe the genetic factors that are linked to life expectancy.

·  Describe the environmental factors that are related to life expectancy.

·  Describe ethnic differences in life expectancy.

·  Describe the gender differences in life expectancy.

·  Describe international differences in life expectancy.

·  Define the Third Age and explain how it differs from the Fourth Age.

Physical Changes and Health

·  Describe the wear-and-tear, cellular, metabolic, and programmed cell death theories of aging.

·  Define neurofibrillary tangles and describe why they are a problem.

·  Describe the changes in the dendrites that occur with aging.

·  Define neuritic plaques and explain why they are a problem.

·  Describe age changes in levels of neurotransmitters.

·  Explain what imaging of the brain tells us about age-related declines in cognitive functioning.

·  Describe the changes in the cardiovascular system with age.

·  Explain the causes and effects of cerebral vascular accidents.

·  Describe the cause and progression of vascular dementia.

·  Describe how cerebral vascular accidents and vascular dementia are diagnosed.

·  Describe how the respiratory system changes with age and define chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

·  Describe the causes, symptoms, and treatments for Parkinson's disease.

·  Describe the changes that occur in the eye with age.

·  Define presbycusis and its causes.

·  Describe age-related changes in the sense of smell.

·  Describe the consequences of age-related changes in balance.

·  Describe the changes that one can make to one's home so that falls are less likely to occur.

·  Describe the sleep disturbances that are common in older adults and describe their possible causes.

·  Describe the nutritional needs of older adults.

·  Describe how the risk of getting cancer changes with age and explain the importance of early detection and screening.

·  Explain how immigrant status affects health.

Cognitive Processes

·  Define selective attention, vigilance, and attentional control and describe the age differences in each.

·  Describe how reaction time and its components change with age.

·  Describe how practice and experience influence psychomotor speed.

·  Describe the physical changes that affect driving.

·  Describe what happens to working memory with age and how this affects cognitive performance.

·  Define explicit, implicit, episodic, and semantic memory and describe the typical age differences in each.

·  Describe which autobiographical memories are most likely to be recalled.

·  Describe how one's beliefs about one's memory affect memory ability.

·  Describe the 2 steps that someone should take when trying to determine if one is suffering from abnormal memory problems.

·  Explain the difference between internal and external memory aids and describe how the E-I-E-I-O framework combines these types of memory and memory aids.

·  Explain how creative output varies across disciplines and across adulthood.

·  Describe the 4 characteristics of wisdom that Baltes and his colleagues have described.

·  Explain how life experiences and empathy are related to wisdom.

·  Describe the 3 factors that seem to foster wisdom.

Mental Health and Intervention

·  Describe how depression is diagnosed, particularly in older adults.

·  Describe the biological and psychosocial factors that may cause depression and how the influence of these factors may change with age.

·  Describe the effects and possible side effects of HCAs, MAO inhibitors, and SSRIs when treating depression.

·  Describe how behavior therapy and cognitive therapy can be used to treat depression.

·  Describe the symptoms associated with anxiety disorders.

·  Describe how anxiety disorders are treated, particularly in older adults.

·  Describe the symptoms and progression of Alzheimer's disease.

·  Describe how Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed.

·  Describe the possible causes of Alzheimer's disease.

·  Describe what can be done to help Alzheimer’s patients.

·  Describe how spaced retrieval can be used to improve memory performance in Alzheimer's patients.