Chapter 2

Question 1

What does structural neuroimaging provide?

Answer 1

Highly detailed images of anatomical features of the brain

Techniques include X-rays, CT, and MRI.

Question 2

What is functional neuroimaging used for?

Answer 2

Indication of brain activity but not high anatomical detail

Techniques include SPECT, PET, fMRI, MEG, and NIRSI.

Question 3

What are the three general methodological perspectives in neuroscience?

Answer 3

• Neuropsychological approach:
• Neurocorrelational approach:
• Activation imaging approach:

Question 4

What does the neuropsychological approach compare?

Answer 4

Brain functioning of healthy older adults with adults displaying various pathological disorders in the brain

Question 5

What is the Neurocorrelational approach?

Answer 5

Attempts to link measures of cognitive performance to measures of brain structure or functioning.

Question 6

What is the activation imaging approach?

Answer 6

Attempts to directly link functional brain activity with cognitive behavioral data. Looks at cpmensatory changes.

Question 7

What are compensatory changes in older adult brains?

Answer 7

Differential activation in younger and older adult brains may provide neurological evidence that older adults undergo changes. This allow them to adapt to the inevitable decline of specific areas of the brain

Question 8

What cells make up the brain?

Answer 8

Neurons (dendrites, the axon, neurofibers, and the terminal branches)

Neurons include dendrites, axon, neurofibers, and terminal branches.

Question 9

What is neuroanatomy?

Answer 9

The study of the structure of the brain

Question 10

What age-related changes occur in neurons?

Answer 10

• Decline in the number of neurons
• Decrease in size and number of dendrites
• Formation of tangles in axon fibers
• Decrease in synapses

Question 11

Which neurotransmitter is associated with higher-level cognitive functioning?

Answer 11

Dopamine

Declines in the dopaminergic system are linked to episodic memory and attention.

Question 12

What is the dopaminergic system associated with?

Answer 12

The dopaminergic system is associated with higher-level cognitive functioning like inhibiting thoughts, attention, and planning.

Question 13

What happens to the dopaminergic system in normal aging?

Answer 13

There is clear evidence that effective functioning of the dopaminergic system declines in normal aging.

Question 14

What cognitive declines are related to the dopaminergic system?

Answer 14

Declines in episodic memory and speed tasks are related to the dopaminergic system.

Question 15

Are age-related deficits greater in effortful or automatic cognitive tasks?

Answer 15

Age-related deficits are greater in effortful cognitive tasks than automatic cognitive tasks.

Question 16

How is serotonin related to cognitive decline?

Answer 16

Abnormal processing of serotonin has been shown to be related to cognitive decline.

Question 17

What is acetylcholine associated with?

Answer 17

Damage to structures that use acetylcholine is associated with memory declines.

Question 18

What occurs in the aging brain?

Answer 18

Considerable shrinkage occurs in the aging brain.

Question 19

Which areas of the brain show profound atrophy with aging?

Answer 19

The cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum show profound atrophy.

Question 20

What is white matter?

Answer 20

White matter consists of nerves covered by myelin.

Question 21

What are white matter hyperintensities (WPH)?

Answer 21

WPH are determined by high signal intensity or a bright spotty appearance on images, indicating brain pathologies.

Question 22

What does diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) assess?

Answer 22

DTI assesses the rate and direction that water diffuses through the white matter. Results in an index of the structural health of white matter.

Question 23

What may deterioration of white matter represent?

Answer 23

Deterioration of white matter may represent a cause of increased dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex in older adults.

Question 24

What are WMH linked to?

Answer 24

WMH are linked to cerebrovascular disease, such as hypertension, which is preventable and can be treated.

Question 25

What is the Theory of Mind (ToM)?

Answer 25

ToM is the ability to understand that others have beliefs, desires, and viewpoints different from our own.

Question 26

What does research show about age-related decline in ToM?

Answer 26

Research shows age-related decline in ToM.

Question 27

How do structural changes affect executive functioning?

Answer 27

Structural changes lead to difficulty focusing solely on relevant information due to WMH and reduced volume of the prefrontal cortex.

Question 28

How do structural changes affect memory?

Answer 28

Specific structural changes, such as in the hippocampus, result in memory decline.

Question 29

How do structural changes affect emotion?

Answer 29

There is increased processing of positive emotional information with age and better emotion regulation. * Age-related increase in connections between prefrontal cortex and medial temporal cortex; May show greater need for more connections to process information

Question 30

How does linking structural changes with social-emotional cognitional in older adult change?

Answer 30

Older adults may rely more on automatic judgment processes than reflective processing

Question 31

What is the Positivity Effect in older adults?

Answer 31

Older adults are more motivated to derive emotional meaning from life and to maintain positive feelings than younger adults. Increased motivation to derive emotional meaning from life and maintain positive feelings.

Question 32

What is the Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory (P-FIT)?

Answer 32

P-FIT proposes that intelligence comes from a distributed and integrated network of neurons in the parietal and frontal areas of the brain.

Question 33

How do older adults compensate for brain changes?

Answer 33

Older adults exhibit bilateral activity in both left and right prefrontal areas when presented with similar tasks. Whereas younger adults exhibit focal, unilateral activity in the left prefrontal region.

Question 34

What does research show about brain activity patterns in younger and older adults?

Answer 34

Research shows consistent patterns in brain activity in younger and older adults, challenging the view of broader activation as compensation.

Question 35

What role does bilateral activation play in older adults' cognitive function?

Answer 35

Bilateral activation in older adults plays a supportive role in their cognitive function.

Question 36

What is HAROLD?

Answer 36

Hemispheric asymmetry reduction in older adults. * Suggests bilaterality is compensatory in older adults with reduced cognitive ability.

Question 37

What does the CRUNCH hypothesis suggest?

Answer 37

(Compensation-related utilization of neural circuits hypothesis) * Aging brains over-utilize other regions in the left hemisphere on demanding tasks before engaging the right hemisphere

Question 38

What does PASA stand for?

Answer 38

Posterior-anterior shift in aging. * An age-related reduction in brain activity in the back of the brain and an increase in the front of the brain.

Question 39

What is STAC-r?

Answer 39

(scaffolding theory of cognitive age-revised) * Default network theory holds that when the cognitive demands are made on the brain, the default network is suppressed. * Older adults display less suppression of the default network suggesting a greater dependence on the default network results in less efficient, focused neural activity. * Neural resource enrichment and depletion interact with neural plasticity to account for age-related changes in cognitive functioning

Question 40

What is plasticity in the aging brain?

Answer 40

Plasticity involves the interaction between the brain and the environment and is mostly used to describe the effects of experience on the structure and functions of the neural system.

Question 41

What is the role of neural stem cells in the aging brain?

Answer 41

They give rise to new neurons and can generate new cells throughout adulthood

Question 42

Fill in the blank: Brain plasticity is enhanced by _______.

Answer 42

aerobic exercise

Question 43

What is the relationship between nutrition and brain aging?

Answer 43

Researchers are beginning to understand the relations between categories of nutrients and brain structures