Chapter 17

• Ageism - Prejudice or discrimination against a person (most commonly an older person) based on age.
• • Chronologically, young old generally refers to people ages 65 to 74
  • The old old, ages 75 to 84
  • The oldest old, age 85 and above
• Primary aging - Gradual, inevitable process of bodily deterioration throughout the life span.
• Secondary aging - Aging processes that result from disease and bodily abuse and disuse and are often preventable.
• Activities of daily living (ADLs) - Essential activities that support survival, such as eating, dressing, bathing, and getting around the house.
• Functional age - Measure of a person’s ability to function effectively in his or her physical and social environment in comparison with others of the same chronological age.
• Gerontology - Study of the aged and the process of aging.
• Geriatrics - Branch of medicine concerned with processes of aging and medical conditions associated with old age.
• Life expectancy - Age to which a person in a particular cohort is statistically likely to live (given his or her current age and health status), on the basis of average longevity of a population.
• Longevity - Length of an individual’s life
• Life span - The longest period that members of a species can live.
• Senescence - the decline in body functioning associated with aging.
• Genetic-programming theories- Theories that explain biological aging as resulting from a genetically determined developmental timetable.
• Variable-rate theories - Theories that explain biological aging as a result of processes that involve damage to biological systems and that vary from person to person
• Programmed senescence theory - result of the sequential switching on and off of certain genes
• Endocrine theory - biological clocks act through hormones to control the pace of aging
• Immunological theory - decline in immune system functions leads to increased vulnerability to infectious disease and thus to aging and death
• Evolutionary theory - evolved trait thus genes that promote reproduction are selected at higher rates than genes that extend life
• Wear-and-tear-theory - cells and tissues have vital parts that wear out
• Free-radical theory - damage from oxygen radicals causes cells and eventually organs to stop functioning
• Rate-of-living theory - an organism's rate of metabolism, the shorter its life span
• Autoimmune theory - immune system becomes confused and attacks its own body cells
• Survival curve - A curve on a graph showing the percentage of people or animals alive at various ages.
• Hayflick limit - Genetically controlled limit, proposed by Hayflick, on the number of times cells can divide in members of a species.
• Older adults become shorter as the disks between their spinal vertebrae atrophy. Especially in women with osteoporosis, thinning of the bones may cause kyphosis, commonly called a “dowager’s hump,” an exaggerated curvature of the spine
• Reserve capacity - Ability of body organs and systems to put forth 4 to 10 times as much eff ort as usual under acute stress; also called organ reserve.
• In late adulthood, the brain gradually diminishes in volume and weight, particularly in the frontal cortex, which controls executive functions
• Cerebellum, which coordinates sensory and motor activity— neuronal loss is not substantial and does not affect cognition
• Dopamine receptors are important as they help in regulating attention
• This deterioration of the brain’s myelin, or white matter, is associated with cognitive and motor declines
• Hippocampus, a portion of the brain involved in learning and memory
• Cataracts - Cloudy or opaque areas in the lens of the eye, which cause blurred vision.
• Age-related macular degeneration - Condition in which the center of the retina gradually loses its ability to discern fi ne details; leading cause of irreversible visual impairment in older adults.
• Glaucoma -Irreversible damage to the optic nerve caused by increased pressure in the eye.
• Dementia - Deterioration in cognitive and behavioral functioning due to physiological causes.
• Alzheimer’s disease - Progressive, irreversible, degenerative brain disorder characterized by cognitive deterioration and loss of control of bodily functions, leading to death.
• Parkinson’s disease - Progressive, irreversible degenerative neurological disorder, characterized by tremor, stiff ness, slowed movement, and unstable posture.
• Neurofibrillary tangles -Twisted masses of protein fibers found in brains of persons with Alzheimer’s disease.
• Myloid plaque - Waxy chunks of insoluble tissue found in brains of persons with Alzheimer’s disease.
• Cognitive reserve - Hypothesized fund of energy that may enable a deteriorating brain to continue to function normally.