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Questions and Answers
Which of the following is NOT a commonly observed effect of aging on sleep patterns?
What is a common motor function decline associated with aging?
Which sensory change is NOT typically associated with aging?
How does neuroplasticity relate to aging?
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What is an expected organ change associated with aging?
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Which of the following is a consequence of diminished sexual activity in aging individuals?
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What cognitive change is often seen with aging?
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Which condition is NOT a consequence of impaired motor function due to aging?
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What is primarily affected by sensory changes in older adults?
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Which statement is true regarding information retrieval in older adults?
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What does anosognosia in dementia refer to?
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Which of the following best describes apraxia?
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How does latency in information processing change with age?
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What is a primary difference between the MMSE and MoCA?
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Which factor is NOT a contributor to functional neurological disorders?
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What communication technique is most effective when interacting with a person with dementia?
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What is one way in which neuroplasticity is described?
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What is one of the impacts of brain atrophy as mentioned?
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How does decreased dendritic density affect synaptic function?
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Which sensory change is attributed to aging?
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What is a common effect of physical changes associated with aging?
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What effect does aging generally have on sleeping patterns?
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What describes one of the effects related to sensory changes with age?
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What is the result of slower synaptic transmission speed as one ages?
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Study Notes
Normal Physical Changes in the Brain
- The brain changes throughout life, including with age.
- Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to adapt and change by forming new neural connections.
The Brain: Normal Physical Changes with Ageing
- Decreased density of dendrites leads to a loss of synaptic plasticity.
- Slower synaptic transmission speed results in increased reaction time.
- Loss of grey matter occurs with age, and is less prominent with higher education levels.
- Less sleep is associated with more brain atrophy.
- Brain atrophy, or shrinkage, results in decreased brain weight.
Normal Sensory Changes
- Vision: Diminished visual acuity and adaptability, atherosclerosis of blood vessels causes decreased blood flow to the eyes leading to a larger blind spot on the retina and reduced vision field.
- Common vision problems include presbyopia, cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.
- Hearing: Degeneration of pathways to the brain, calcification of the middle ear, less responsive cochlear membranes, and more earwax production.
- Common hearing problems include presbycusis, difficulty with word discrimination, decreased ability to hear high-frequency sounds, and tinnitus.
- Taste: Seems to be the least affected sensory change, flavors may seem blander.
- Smell: Loss of sensitivity to odors, more prominent in men.
- Touch: Less responsiveness to cold and heat with distal loss greater than proximal loss.
Effects of Physical Changes
- General Slowing Down: Dendritic loss, decreased speed of nerve impulses, decreased knowledge retrieval, and decreased muscle elasticity.
- Impaired Motor Function: Decreased stamina, fine motor skills, dexterity, balance, postural control, and arthritis.
- Modified Sleeping Patterns: Frequent waking at night, decreased REM sleep, early morning awakening, and daytime napping.
- Modified Eating Patterns: Impaired satiety, rigid eating habits, decreased food intake, and malnutrition.
- Diminished Sexual Activity: Decreased testosterone levels in men, impotence, chronic pain affects sexual activity, and women experience hearing loss.
Aging and Health – Physical Changes
- Neurological/Sensory Changes: Decreased hearing, vision, taste, smell, touch, and reflexes.
- Circulation: Decreased energy and stamina, hypertension, cold sensitivity, forgetfulness, poor cognition, edema, susceptibility to transient ischemic attacks, pressure ulcers, and orthostatic hypotension.
- Organ Changes: Slower heart, less elastic lungs, kidney and liver issues, sexual organ changes, and skin changes.
- Bone and Muscle Changes: Weaker bones and muscles, stiff joints, decreased range of motion, flexibility, strength, balance, coordination, and incontinence.
Basics of Good Memory
- Cognition refers to acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, senses, and experience.
- Memory is the recall of learned information.
- Attention is the foundation for memory.
- Sensory, short-term (working) memory, and long-term memory are the types of memory.
Learning & Memory
- The information-processing model for how learning happens is through: sensory stimulus, response and transfer to working memory, and transfer to long-term memory (usually intentionally)
Learning, Memory, and Ageing
- Sensory changes can negatively affect learning, especially visual and auditory changes.
- Latency increases with age, meaning more time and effort are required for processing, information storage, and retrieval.
- Older adults have decreased free recall, but perform better at recognition tasks.
Functional Neurological Disorders
- Disruptions in normal life that manifest as physical problems, including anxiety, depression, and emotional upset.
- Incidence of functional neurological disorders rises in later life.
- Contributors include medication misuse, excessive alcohol consumption, and malnutrition.
- These disorders are treatable.
The 7 A’s of Dementia
- Anosognosia: Inability to perceive their illness.
- Amnesia: Partial or total loss of memory.
- Agnosia: Inability to interpret sensations.
- Aphasia: Loss of ability to understand or express speech.
- Apraxia: Inability to perform purposeful actions.
- Apathy: Indifference and lack of interest in the environment.
- Altered Perception: Misinterpretation of sensory perception.
Communicating with a Person with Dementia
- Remove distractions.
- Make eye contact.
- Use a relaxed tone and body language.
- Listen to words and body language.
- Allow more time to process.
- Show and talk.
- Encourage humor.
- Account for vision and hearing loss.
MMSE* vs. MoCA*
- MMSE (Mini Mental Status Exam) and MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) are screening tools for cognitive function.
Competence
- A person with cognitive impairment may lose the ability to understand their circumstances and make decisions.
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