7- Stress and Aging Flashcards
(34 cards)
What is the #1 disease factor of the 21st century?
stress
What is the definition of aging ?
can be defined as a progressive, generalized impairment of function resulting in a loss of adaptative response to a stress and in a growing risk of age-associated disease
By 2050, what will be the situation of the global population ?
The population of older people will exceed that of children
What is the historical precedent of the phenomenon of aging population
There is no historical precedent
What explains more of the increase in deaths due to cancer and heart disease ?
People weren’t affected by them because they didn’t live long enough to get them
What is the exponential increase of life expectancy due to ? (2 main factors)
modern medicine, more precisely penicillin
general societal hygiene
What is the percent decline in physical strength and senses every year ?
1%
What is the percentage of people over 65 that are obese ?
25%
What are the 3 major causes of death in old age ?
Heart disease, cancer, stroke
What is fluid intelligence ? how does it change in old age ?
fluid intelligence is the ability to solve abstract relational problems, ability to solve new problems, use logic in new situations, and identify patterns
it decreases with age
What is crystallized intelligence ? how does it change in old age ?
ability to use learned knowledge and experience, retrieving information from memory
decreases with age
What is senile dementia characterized by ?
altered personality difficulty in relation to others forgetfulness memory loss disorientation
When do adults stop growing new brain cells ?
Never. Recent research has shown that adults continue to grow them throughout their lives
How does higher education have an effect on later brain function ?
Adults with higher levels of education show significantly less atrophy of cerebral cortex
What types of memory decline in older adults ? What memory does not decline ?
Decline in episodic and working memory
Not so much in semantic memory (common knowledge)
What are the goals of successful aging when it comes to memory?
Not eliminating memory decline, but reducing it and adapting to it
What memory task are older people better at than younger adults ?
Prospective memory tasks, involves remembering to perform a planned action or intention at some future point in time
What is Hayflick’s Cellular Clock Theory ?
That cells can divide a maximum of about 75-80 times
As we age, our cells become increasingly less capable of dividing.
Hayflick places upper limit of lifespan at about 120 years.
How is telomere research related to Cellular Clock Theory?
Telomeres are DNA sequences that cap chromosomes, and each time a cell divides, telomeres become shorter and shorter.
Age-related telomere erosion linked with impaired ability to recover from stress and an increased rate of cancer.
How is compassion related to telomeres and the cellular clock theory?
compassion increases telomerase, which fixes telomeres
How is the Cellular Clock Theory related to injury repair ?
Injuries heal less quickly in older people because the cells divide less quickly
What is the Hormonal Stress Theory?
Aging in the body’s hormonal system may lower resilience to stress and increase likelihood of disease.
With age, hormones stimulated by stress that flow through HPA system remain elevated longer than when we were younger.
Prolonged, elevated levels of stress-related hormones associated with increased risks for many diseases including heart disease and cancer.
What is the Free-Radical Theory?
injury caused by free radicals initiates a self-perpetuating cycle in which oxidative damage impairs mitochondrial function, which results in the generation of even greater amounts of oxygen free radicals
What is the chain of events in Free Radical Theory?
Oxidative cell damage leads to mitochondrial damage, releasing free radicals
DNA damage, cross-linking proteins, mitochondria damage
Forming age pigments
Impaired function
