chapter two chapter two neuroscience as a basis for adult development and aging
TRANSCRIPT
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CHAPTER TWONeuroscience as a Basis for Adult
Development and Aging
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Neuroscience Tools…
…allow for the study of age related pathologies:
• Alzheimer’s• Parkinson’s
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) – provides static snapshots of
the brain
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Neuroscience Tools
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) – fMRI monitors blood flow
in the brain concurrent with behavioral performance.
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The Nervous System
• Neurons: cells that send and receive messages– Dendrites receive messages– Cell body keeps the cell alive and decides when to send
message– Axon sends message– Terminal buttons release chemical messengers into gap– Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers that allow
neurons to communicate– Synapse is the space between neurons
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Healthy Neurons & Unhealthy neurons
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Structural Changes in Neurons• Plasticity
– Neurofibrillary tangles– Amyloid plaques
• Both considered characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease
Changes in communication between the neurons
• Parkinson’s disease
The Nervous System
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Methodological Perspectives
Neuropsychological Perspective
• Compares healthy older adults with those with pathological disorders of the brain
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Methodological Perspectives
Correlational Perspective• Links measures of cognitive performance to measures of
brain structure or functioning
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Methodological Perspectives
Activation imaging• Links functional brain
activity with cognitive behavior data
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Anatomy of the Human Brain
• Executive functions– Ability to make and carry out plans– Switch between tasks– Maintain attention and focus
• Brain structures involved:– Prefrontal cortex– Hippocampus– Cerebellum
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Age-Related Changes in the Structure of the Brain
Thinning and shrinkage in volume and density are linked to:
– Lower cognitive test scores– Poor performance of executive
function– Memory decline– Decline in speed of processing
• White matter hyperintensities (WMH)– Indicate myelin loss or neural
atrophy
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Age-Related Changes in Neurochemical Properties
The dopaminergic system is associated with:
• higher–level cognitive functioning • Inhibiting thoughts• Attention• Planning
• a decline in functioning as one ages normally
• Research has found a decline in cognitive tasks that involve more effort:• Episodic memory• Speed tasks• working memory
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Functional Consequences of Brain Deterioration
• Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) • Affiliated with the prefrontal cortex and is also
involved in executive control• As one ages, this area tends to deteriorate,
affecting tasks involving working memory
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Compensation and Prefrontal Bilaterality
When presented with similar tasks:• younger adults exhibit
unilateral activity in left prefrontal region
• older adults exhibit bilateral activity (both left and right prefrontal areas)– Perhaps the aging brain
makes compensatory changes
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Neural Plasticity and the Aging Brain• Plasticity involves the interaction between the brain and the
environment and is mostly used to describe the effects of experience on the structures and function of the neural system.
• Neural stem cells (which give rise to new neurons) persist in adult brains and can generate new cells throughout adulthood.
• Environmental enrichment – Experiments with aging mice showed an increase in number of newly generated neurons after sessions in complicated mazes.
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Neuroscience and Cognitive Aging
• Different regions of the brain do not deteriorate evenly. • Prefrontal area is more prone to
decay than, for example, the amygdala (involved in emotional processing).
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Emotional Processing and the Brain
Information with high emotional significanceis more likely to be remembered than information that is emotionally neutral for both older and young adults.• Negative high-arousal information is:
– automatic in nature– linked to activation of the amygdala interacting with the
hippocampus• Negative low-arousal information:
– more activation of the prefrontal cortex-hippocampus network is necessary
• If the amygdala is damaged, arousing stimuli are not attended to.
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Aging and Emotional Processing
Younger and older adults process positive and negative information differently.• Positivity Effect: Older adults are more motivated
to derive emotional meaning from life and to maintain a positive affect.
• As a result, older adults pay more attention to and remember positive information.
• Younger adults tend to pay more attention to and remember negative information.