Week 12 Lecture

Question 1

What is senescence?

Answer 1

degenerative phase of ageing, universal, progressive

Question 2

What is the maintenance function in the body?

And what happens to this as we age?

Answer 2

Repair system: it can damage tissue that is repaired, cancers destroyed by immune system.
This system starts to diminish between ages 50-100.

Question 3

What are the two main theories of ageing, which BOTH contribute to senescence (ageing)?

Answer 3

1. cellular theories (exposure to toxins, chemicals etc)

2. programming theories (max lifespan preset by genetic factors)

Question 4

What is the most common experimental design in ageing?

Answer 4

cross sectional (compare performance of different groups of adults).

Question 5

What effects do we have to be mindful of in ageing studies?

Answer 5

cohort effects (war, free education etc) over time

Question 6

What is the ideal study method in ageing?

Answer 6

longitudinal studies

Question 7

What does longitudinal ageing studies guard against?

Answer 7

cohort differences

Question 8

What types of functioning slows as we age?

Answer 8

motor, sensory and intellectual functioning

Question 9

What physiological slowing occurs as we age?

Answer 9

cardiovascular, heart and lungs, skin and bone

Question 10

If you look older, does this mean you are more likely to die sooner than someone who looks younger than you but is the same age?

Answer 10

no

Question 11

Brain weight/mass decreases over adulthood but accelerates considerably after what age?

Answer 11

60

Question 12

As we age, the blood flow to the brain is decreased. This leads to

Answer 12

neuronal death

Question 13

What changes in our sensation and perception as we age?

Answer 13

difficulties in processing and interpreting sensory information.

Question 14

Losses in sensory and perception takes two forms. What are these?

Answer 14

1. increased sensory thresholds

2. decreased sensitivity to low level stimulation

Question 15

What happens to your pupils and lens as you age?

Answer 15

pupils become smaller and lens become denser

Question 16

Are declines in visual acuity greater in males or females?

Answer 16

declines are greater in women than in men

Question 17

Most visual acuity can be corrected. For those who don’t have it corrected, this reduces what?

Answer 17

Older adults quality of life.

Question 18

What is called when you can’t see things as closely as you used to?

Answer 18

prespiopia

Question 19

What percentage of adults who are 75+ years have good corrected vision?

Answer 19

75%

Question 20

What does 20/20 vision actually mean?

What does 20/40 vision mean?

Answer 20

You can see at 20 metres what normal people can see at 20 metres.
You can see at 20 feet what others can see at 40 feet (only “half as good”).

Question 21

Which age groups are less able to divide attention?

Answer 21

older adults

Question 22

What difficulties do older adults have in regard to distractions?

Answer 22

they have problems selectively attending to stimuli while ignoring distractors

Question 23

Older adults have the greatest difficulties in processing visual information when the situation is… (2)

Answer 23

• novel

- complex

Question 24

How many times more likely are hearing impairments than vision in older age?

Answer 24

3X more likely

Question 25

Most age related hearing problems originate where?

Answer 25

in the inner ear

Question 26

Do men or women lose their hearing sensitivity earlier and faster than the other?

Answer 26

men

Question 27

What happens in the sound threshold as we age?

Answer 27

increase in the thresholds needed to hear sounds

Question 28

What is speech perception dependant on?

Answer 28

hearing | cognitive processes

Question 29

Auditory perception is more difficult in older adults when (2)?

Answer 29

1. task is novel | 2. listening conditions are poor

Question 30

To understand a conversation as an older adult, what are important about the conditions and what becomes problematic?

Answer 30

1. listening conditions are important | 2. increased attentional demands are problematic

Question 31

What happens as we age in terms of sensitivity to taste?

Answer 31

General decline (greater in men)

Question 32

What happens as we age in terms of smell?

Answer 32

general decline in perception of odour (worsened by disease, smoking)

Question 33

What age does the sensitivity to touch gradually decrease?

Answer 33

gradually lost from middle childhood

Question 34

What ages does the sensitivity to changes in temperature gradually decrease?

Answer 34

declines in later adulthood

Question 35

What is interesting about sensitivity to pain stimuli as we age?

Answer 35

for stronger pain, older adults remain as sensitive as others. For weaker pain, this sensitivity gradually decreases.

Question 36

Are declines in sensation and perception universal?

Answer 36

yes

Question 37

What is having 2 or more than 2 sensory impairments associated with?

Answer 37

difficulty with basic tasks of living. However, these impairments could be a sign of something greater.

Question 38

Adults tend to do more poorly on cognitive tests, however, this may be due to what?

Answer 38

physical (arthritis, etc) or psychosocial reasons (worry etc)

Question 39

episodic, working, explicit, implicit, semantic memory and executive functioning all ____ decline in older adulthood.

Answer 39

decline

Question 40

What are some non cognitive factors which may influence the decline of cognitive abilities as you age?

Answer 40

health, education, and SES factors

Question 41

What skill increases in adults across years?

Answer 41

solving real world problems

Question 42

Older adults perform better when tests are:

Answer 42

- practical | - based on familiar situations

Question 43

what is considered early onset of dementia?

Answer 43

less than 65 years

Question 44

Are men or women at more risk older than 85 years?

Answer 44

women

Question 45

What is the most common cause of dementia?

Answer 45

alzheimer's

Question 46

What is said to be the major global public health challenge for the 21st century?

Answer 46

alzheimer's

Question 47

What is the 4th leading cause of overall disease burden in Australia?

Answer 47

alzheimer's

Question 48

There has been a generational shift in the burden of disease from __ diseases to ___ illnesses.

Answer 48

acute | chronic

Question 49

The longer that someone with dementia is in family care, the better:

Answer 49

health outcomes will be due to delayed institutionalisation.

Question 50

What is the predicted annual economic value of unpaid dementia care?

Answer 50

$450 billion US

Question 51

What is the commonest mental health problem affecting older people?

Answer 51

Depression

Question 52

What re the two biggest mental health issues for the elderly? Who are more likely to experience this?

Answer 52

dementia and depression women

Question 53

work role forms a critical part of adult:

Answer 53

identity

Question 54

Older adult workers have lower rates of _____ and higher rates of job _____.

Answer 54

absenteeism | satisfaction

Question 55

Older adults who adjust best to retirement are:

Answer 55

- healthy and active - education - adequate income - social network - usually were satisfied with life pre-retirement

Question 56

Widowers score ____ then married people on measures of psychological wellbeing.

Answer 56

lower

Question 57

Coping responses for bereavement are encouraged by (2)

Answer 57

- social relationships | - better general health

Question 58

Women generally have higher levels of depression than men. Bit gender effects often are ____ in widowhood.

Answer 58

reversed

Question 59

What may protect against the negative effects of partner death, especially for women?

Answer 59

relative health - e.g., this is sad but at least I still have my daughter

Question 60

Why might there be gender differences in bereavement/coping?

Answer 60

- different starting points? (men have to fall further, generally happier) - social reason? (more common to be a widowed female) - men have more to lose? - health differences?

Question 61

What does the trend line look like in life satisfaction?

Answer 61

dips in early-mid adulthood and rise again toward retirement age