late adulthood ch 17-19 developmental psychology jen wright
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Late Adulthood
Ch 17-19Developmental
PsychologyJen Wright
The aging process
Aging can be beautiful!
what ages?
All internal systems Cardiovascular, respiratory, etc. Sense organs
Immune system Muscles, joints, bones Sexual/reproductive system Brain
Sleep Cognitive processing
Physical appearance Attitudes
different kinds of aging Universal aging
Primary aging Probabilistic aging
Secondary aging Chronological aging Biological aging Social aging
Ageism Population aging
universal/biological aging
Senesence The universal biological processes of
a living organism approaching an advanced age.
Oganismal senescence Increasing homeostatic instability Declining ability to respond to stress Increasing risk of disease,
dysfunction, disability
Cellular senescence It was once believed that normal cells were
in principle immortal Environmental factors responsible for cell death
Now we know that most (but not all) cells die Hayflick limit
Number of times a cell will divide before dying 52 times in 20% oxygen (normal air) 70 times in 3% oxygen (human internal
conditions)
what controls cell division? Cells possess molecular
clocks Telomeres
Non-coding appendix on ends of DNA
Shortened by mitosis At certain length, cell will no
longer divide Protective mechanism against
chromosome destruction, mutation, and cancer
Other forms of programmed cell death E.g. apoptosis Triggered by mitochondria
biological theories of aging Aging clock theory
Telomere theory
Evolutionary theory Late-acting deleterious mutations
not selected against
Passing on genes
Early-acting disease
Late-acting disease
Middle-acting disease
Wear and tear theory Error theory
Somatic mutation theory Free-radical theory Accumulative waste theory
How long is a normal life? maximum life span
the oldest possible age that members of a species can live
under ideal circumstances for humans approximately 122 years
average life expectancy the number of years the average newborn
in a particular population group is likely to live
centenarians
People living to be 100+ years old 55,000 in US in 2005
1 in 50 women, 1 in 200 men 30,000 in Japan
Okinawans 5x more likely 450,000 world-wide Super-centenarians: 110+ years
Reviewing lives of different centenarians Many differences in lifestyles
Yet, they were similar in four ways… diet was moderate work continued throughout life family, friends, community ties were
important exercise and relaxation were part of daily
routine
Nun study
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw2lafKIEio
Top 4 disease-related deaths
1. Cancer2. Heart disease3. Cerebrovascular disease4. Pulmonary disease
Other diseases that occurs with increasing frequency with age: Arthritis Cataracts Osteoporosis Type 2 diabetes Hypertension Alzheimer’s disease
aging prevention Artificial extension of telomeres
Trade-off between aging and cancer Vitamin D naturally lengthens
Increased sirtuins – repair damage to DNA Organ/tissue repair and rejuvenation
Free-radical therapy Stem cells
Organ/tissue replacement Artificial and cloned organs/tissue
Caloric restriction 60% of required
calories Reduction in Type2
diabetes, cancer Extension of life in
all species tested Intermittent
fasting
Erickson’s stages
Adolescence: Identity achievement Young Adulthood: Developed
network of intimacy Mid-life: Generativity vs.
Stagnation Creating/giving vs. “self-absorption”
Late-life: Integrity vs. Despair Life-review
generativity
Creative life projects Feeling needed by people Helping younger generation develop Influence in community or area of interest Productivity and effectiveness Appreciation/awareness of older generation Broader, more global perspective Interest in things beyond family
shift in motivation
integrity Life-review: was one’s life meaningful? Regrets involve four major themes:
Mistakes and bad decisions Hard times Social relationships Missed educational opportunities
Reminiscence therapy: discussing past activities and experiences with another individual or group
Wisdom Acceptance of life circumstances Finding meaning/purpose
Dimensions of well-being Self-acceptance Purpose in life Positive relationships Environmental mastery Personal growth Autonomy
personality
Conscientiousness predicts lower mortality risk from childhood through late adulthood
Low conscientiousness and high neuroticism predicts earlier death
Older adults characterized by negative affect do not live as long as those characterized by more positive affect
volunteerism
Older adults benefit from altruism and engaging in volunteer activities
Helping others may reduce stress hormones, which improves cardiovascular health and strengthens the immune system
Volunteering is associated with a number of positive outcomes More satisfaction with life Less depression and anxiety Better physical health
Social networks
Convoy Model of Social Relations: individuals go through life embedded in a
personal network of individuals from whom they give and receive social support
Social Support: Improves physical and mental health Reduces symptoms of disease Increases one’s ability to meet health-care
needs Decreases risk of institutionalization Associated with lower rates of depression
Social Integration Greater interest in spending time with a small
circle of friends and family Low level of social integration is linked with
coronary heart disease Being a part of a social network is linked with
longevity, especially for men Four-generation families have become more
common because of increased longevity Great-grandparents can transmit family
history to future generations
Selective Optimization with Compensation
Successful aging is linked with three main factors: Selection: need to select those
activities of most value Optimization: maintain performance
through practice and use of technology
Compensation: find constructive ways to accommodate/work around increasing disability
Social aging Unlike gender/ethnicity
Doesn’t apply for entire life. (potentially) applies to everyone.
Ageism Negative stereotypes associated with age
negatively influence performance, function, and well-being. Stereotypes against older adults are often negative Most frequent form is disrespect, followed by
assumptions about ailments or frailty caused by age Positive stereotypes associated with age
positively influence performance, function, and well-being.
Development of dementia
Loss of intellectual ability in elderly people has traditionally been called senility.
The pathological loss of brain function is known as dementia—literally, “out of mind,” referring to severely impaired judgment dementia
irreversible loss of intellectual functioning caused by organic brain damage or disease
becomes more common with age, but it is abnormal and pathological even in the very old
Alzheimer’s disease First described by German psychiatrist
Alois Alzheimer (1906) Generally diagnosed in people over 65
years Early-onset (before 65 years) only 5-10% of
patients Several genetic causes
4.5+ million American suffer from it 5% of 65-74 years Nearly 50% of 85+
1 in 6 women over 55; 1 in 10 men over 55
http://www.alz.org/brain/01.asp
Symptoms of Pre-dementia Early symptoms similar to age-related or
stress-induced memory loss Difficulty remembering recently learned facts
Subtle cognitive difficulties Executive function of attentiveness Planning, flexibility Abstract thinking
Impairment in semantic memory New memory formation
Mild confusion/Apathy As early as 5-10 years (some say 20
years) before official diagnosis
Moderate stages Hindering of independence Paraphasias
Phonemic paraphasia - Mispronunciation, syllables out of sequence. e.g. "I slipped on the lice (ice) and broke my arm."
Verbal paraphasia - Substitution of words Semantic paraphasia - The substituted word is
related to the intended word. e.g. "I spent the whole day working on the television, I mean, computer."
Remote paraphasia - The substituted word is not really related to the intended word. e.g. "You forgot your lamp, I mean, umbrella."
Memory problems worsen STM and LTM
Start of failure to recognize friends/ relatives
Behavioral changes Wandering Sundowning Irritability Labile affect
Progression is typically 2-10 years
Advanced stages
Complete dependence Significant language impairment
Eventual loss of speech Apathy, exhaustion Loss of mobility, ability to feed
oneself External causes of death Progression is typically 1-5 years
•Plaques•Amyloid-beta proteins
• Tangles•Neurofibrillary congestion
Causes?
Several competing hypotheses: Cholingeric hypothesis
Caused by reduced synthesis of acetylcholine Increase in acetylcholine doesn’t cure dementia
Amyloid hypothesis Caused by amyloid beta deposits caused by APP
(chr21) Universal development in Down Syndrome by 40 Gene that leads to excessive deposits in early-
onset Transgenic mice Weak correlation with neuron loss
Tau hypothesis Caused by tau protein abnormalities Formation of neurofibrillary tangles
Herpes simplex virus (HSV1) hypotheis Cold sore virus May be responsible for up to 60% of cases Promotes formation of beta amyloid plaques
Uses APP for transportation Causes inflammation in brain
HSV1 found in brain cells of Alzheimer’s patients
Cheap available drugs for treatment
Risk factors Obesity High blood pressure Head trauma High cholesterol Being American!
Higher rates in Japanese-Americans than Japanese African-Americans than Africans
Depression Lower rates in highly educated
Beneficial consequences of learning and memory
Other forms of dementia
The second most common cause of dementia is a stroke
Vascular dementia (VaD), also called multi-infarct dementia (MID)
a form of dementia characterized by sporadic, and progressive, loss of intellectual functioning caused by repeated infarcts, or temporary obstructions of blood vessels, which prevent sufficient blood from reaching the brain
Subcortical Dementias Forms of dementia that begin with impairments in motor
ability and produce cognitive impairment in later stages Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and Multiple
Sclerosis are subcortical dementias Reversible Dementia
dementia caused by medication, inadequate nutrition, alcohol abuse, depression, or other mental illness can sometimes be reversed
population aging Increased age of population Two causal factors
Rising life expectancy Declining fertility
Asia/Europe face severe population aging Average age approaching 50
Economic implications More savings/less spending Increased health care Less education Retirement/social security
Population aging
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