Ageing Flashcards
(29 cards)
What is Brain Volume Loss in biological ageing?
Greater in frontal lobes; Hippocampus loses 20-30% neurons by age 80.
What is observed in slowed processing due to ageing?
Slowed processing is observed in neuroimaging (Pelosiv Buunhardt, 1999) and behaviour (Salthouse, 1996).
What is Bilateral Activation in older adults?
Older adults show both hemispheres active during tasks, possibly indicating compensation (Reuber-Lorenz, 2002).
How does working memory change with age?
There is a small decline in working memory, greater with complex tasks.
How does episodic memory change with age?
Episodic memory shows a relative decline.
How does semantic memory change with age?
Semantic memory is relatively stable or improved.
How does implicit memory change with age?
Implicit memory is generally preserved.
What happens to prospective memory with age?
Prospective memory declines unless tasks are naturalistic.
How does ageing affect working memory?
Ageing reduces the ability to inhibit irrelevant information.
What is the evidence for dual-tasking impairment in ageing?
Some evidence suggests impairment, but when controlling difficulty, there is no age difference.
What is the Associative Deficit Hypothesis?
Older adults struggle to associate unrelated items.
How does source memory change with age?
Recollection declines, while knowing remains stable.
How is implicit memory affected by age?
It is preserved in fragment completion and degraded picture identification.
Learning rates are less accurate with age (Howard & Howard, 1942).
What happens to prospective memory with age?
It declines in time-based and event-based tasks, but less decline occurs when tested in ecologically valid contexts.
What is Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)?
The most common form of dementia, affecting over 50% of cases.
What are early symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease?
Episodic memory loss and brain changes such as amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.
What areas of the brain are affected by Alzheimer’s Disease?
The medial temporal lobes and hippocampus are affected first, progressing to wider cortical areas.
What are common signs of Alzheimer’s Disease?
Memory loss, disorientation, language problems, mood/personality changes, and loss of initiative.
What is the memory profile in Alzheimer’s Disease?
Impaired recall and recognition, with semantic memory deteriorating later and implicit memory relatively preserved early on.
What is Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)?
A type of dementia characterized by behavioral changes such as disinhibition, obsession, and sweet cravings.
What is semantic dementia?
A progressive loss of conceptual knowledge.
What issues are associated with Posterior Cortical Atrophy?
Visual processing issues.
What are other important types of dementia?
Vascular Dementia and Lewy Body Dementia.
What is the definition of Successful Ageing according to Rave A Kahn?
Avoid disease/disability, maintain high physical/cognitive function, and engage actively socially and productively.
