PSY C505: LATE ADULTHOOD

• ·        Young-old – 65 to 84 years

  ·        Oldest-old – 85 and older
• Young-old have the substantial potential for physical and cognitive fitness, higher levels of emotional well-being and more effective strategies for mastering gains and losses of old age

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• ·        Majority of the oldest old are females who are widowed and live alone. If not, they are institutionalized
• 1.       Evolutionary Theory of Aging

  Natural selection has not eliminated many harmful conditions and non-adaptive characteristics as it is merely related to reproductive fitness
• Cellular clock/Telomere Theory

  Cells can divide a maximum of 75 to 80 times, and as we age, they are less capable of dividing. Telomere shortening plays a role in aging
• ·        Telomeres are caplike features at the ends of chromosomes that help protect them when cells divide
• Free-radical theory

  People age because when cells metabolize energy, the by-products include unstable oxygen molecules
• ·        The average brain loses 5% to 10% of its weight between ages 20 to 90
• ·        In healthy aging, the decrease is mainly due to the shrinkage of neurons, lower number of synapses, reduces length and complexity of axon s and reduces tree-like branching in dendrites, but only to a minor extent attributable to neural loss
• ·        The prefrontal cortex shrinks the most with aging as implied in decreasing working memory and slower motor behavior
• ·        A general slowing of the brain functioning and spinal cord begins in middle adulthood and accelerates in late adulthood that affects both physical coordination and intellectual performance
• Demyelination of the brain occurs
• ·        Reduced synaptic functioning and production of some neurotransmitters like acethlycholine, dopamine and GABA
• Among people in the 90s, dencritic growth no longer occurred, but may compensate for possible loss of neurons in the 70s. This may be accounted for by the lack of environmental stimulation
• Sleep

  ·        50% or more of older adults complain about difficulty sleeping
• ·        Poor sleep is a risk factor for falls, obesity, lower level cognitive function and earlier death

  ·        Excessively long sleep is an indicator of less effective physical and cognitive functioning
• ·        Wrinkles and age spots are the most noticeable changes
• We become shorter as we get older
• ·        Weight drops after 60 yrs of age due to muscle loss, which gives a sagging look
• Adequate mobility is ana important aspect of maintaining and independent and active lifestyle
• ·        Regular walking decreases the onset of physical disability and reduces functional limittions in oldr adults
• ·        The decline in vision becomes more pronounces

  ·        The visual field becomes smaller, a change suggesting that the intensity of a stimulus in the peripheral area of the visual field needs to be increased if the stimulus is to be seen

  ·        The visual decline can be traced to a reduction in the quality or intensity of light reaching the retina

  ·        Adults may have trouble distinguishing between objects of closely related objects

  ·        Depth perception declines, which makes it difficult for them to determine closeness or height
• 1.       Cataracts – thickening of the lens of the eye that causes a cloudly, opaque and distorted vision
• Glaucoma – damage to the optic nerve because of a pressure from a buildup of a fluid in the eye
• Macular Degeneration – deterioration of the macula, which corresponds to the focal center of the visual field
• ·        Hearing loss is linked to declines in ADLs, cognitive functioning and language
• ·        With aging, individuals could detect touch less in the lower extremities than in the upper extremities
• ·        Presence of pain increases with age and women are likely to report more pain than men
• ·        Cardiovascular disorders increase in late adulthood

  ·        A rise in BP with age can be linked to illness, obesity, stiffening of blood vessels, stress or lack of exercise

  ·        Lung capaciuity drops 40% between ages 20 and 80, even when disease is not present as lungs lose the elasticity chest shrinks and diaphragm weakens

  Diaphragm-strengthening exercises may help
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    Sexuality

  ·        Orgasm becomes less frequent

  ·         More direct stimulation is needed to produce erection

  ·        Older adults who did not have a partner were far less likely to be sexually active than those who had a partner

  ·        For older adults with a partner who reported not having sex, the main reason was poor health, especially of male partner’s

  ·        A sexually interested older women may have problems
• Health Problems

  ·        Probability of having some disease or illness increases with age

  ·        Chronic diseases with slow onset and long duration are common in late adulthood

  ·        As individual ages during late adult years, they are likely to die of cardiovascular disease than cancer

  ·        Falls are the leading cause of injury death for adults 65+
• Osteoporosis – extensive loss of bone tissue
• Arthritis – inflammation of the joints accompanies by pain, stiffness and movement problems
• A.     Cognitive Mechanics

  ·        Hardware of the mind and reflects the neurophysiological architecture of the brain that was developed through evolution

  ·        Decline may begin as soon as early midlife
• Cognitive pragmatics

  ·        Culture-based software programs of the mind

  ·        May improve atleats until an individual becomes old
• A.     Speed of processing

  ·        The speed of information processing declines

  ·        Variations in thinking speed appears to be correlated with the physical aspects of aging

  ·        Slow processing is a predictor of an increased number of falls

  ·        Accumulated knowledge may compensate for slower processing speed

  ·        Age-related losses may be explained by a decline in neural connectivity or indirectly through changes in dopamine

  ·        High intensity aerobic training and processing speed games may be helpful
• ·        Selective attention – focusing on a specific aspect of experience that is relevant while ignoring the irrelevant
• ·        Divided attention – concentrating on more than one activity at the same time
• ·        Sustained attention – focused and extended engagement with an object, task, even or other aspect of the environment
• ·        Executive attention – involves planning actions, allocating attebntion to gaols, detecting and compensating for errors, monitoring progress on tasks and dealing with novel or difficult circumstances