Transcript chapter 18x

Lecture Prepared by:
Dr. M. Sawhney
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Cognitive Functioning in Older Adults
Work & Retirement
Mental Health
Religion and Spirituality
COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN OLDER ADULTS
Cognitive mechanics
Cognitive pragmatics
Speed of processing
 Considerable individual variation in
this ability
ATTENTION
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Selective attention
Divided attention
Sustained attention
Executive attention
MEMORY
 Episodic memory - Younger adults
have better episodic memory
 Semantic memory - Does not decline
as drastically as episodic memory
 Explicit and implicit memory - The
latter is less likely to be adversely
affected with aging than the former
 Working memory and perceptual
speed - Decline during the late
adulthood years
MEMORY
 Source memory - Ability to remember where one learned
something
 Prospective memory - Involves remembering to do
something in the future
Executive functioning
 Aspects of working memory that especially decline in
older adults involve:
Updating memory representations that are relevant for
the task at hand
Replacing old, no longer relevant information
Decision making - Preserved rather well in older adults
USE IT OR LOSE IT
Use it or lose it
 Certain mental activities can
benefit the maintenance of
cognitive skills
 Research suggests that:
 Mental exercise may
reduce cognitive decline
 Lower the likelihood of
developing Alzheimer’s
disease
TRAINING COGNITIVE SKILLS
 Improve the cognitive skills
of many older adults
 Some loss in plasticity in
late adulthood, especially in
the oldest-old
 Cognitive vitality of older
adults can be improved
through cognitive and
physical fitness training
TRAINING COGNITIVE SKILLS
Objective: To determine the effects of cognitive training on daily function and
durability of training on cognitive abilities.
Design: N= 2832 persons, 5 year follow-up of a randomized controlled with
4 treatment groups.
Reasoning
Memory
Speed of
Processing
A control
group
(Willis, et al., 2006)
WORK & RETIREMENT
Work
 Cognitive ability is one of the
best predictors of job
performance in older adults
 http://www.wptv.com/news/
region-c-palm-beachcounty/west-palmbeach/local-program-helpsseniors-transition-back-towork
RETIREMENT
In the US:
 On average, workers will spend
10%-15% of their lives in
retirement
 Life paths for individuals in their
60s are less clear today
 7 million retired Americans
return to work after they retire
 Different reasons to work after
retirement
ADJUSTMENT TO RETIREMENT
 Older adults who adjust best to
retirement are:
 Healthy
 Active and have adequate income
 Are better educated
 Have extended social networks and
family
 Satisfied with their lives before
retiring
 Flexible and plan key factors
MENTAL HEALTH
Depression
 Gender differences
 Common predictors
Earlier depressive symptoms
Poor health or disability
Loss events
Low social support
DEPRESSION
Treatable by combination of medications
and psychotherapy.
Cognitive Behavior therapy
Interpersonal therapy
 25% of individuals who commit suicide in
the U.S. are 65 years of age or older
DEMENTIA & ALZHEIMER’S
Dementia: Involve a deterioration of mental functioning
 20% of individuals over the age of 80 have dementia
Alzheimer disease:
Gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language,
and eventually, physical function
 Women are likely to develop Alzheimer disease
 Causes:
 Deterioration of the brain
 Formation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary
tangles
 Lifestyle
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJXTXN4xrI8
Early detection & drug treatment
Mild Cognitive Impairment
fMRI shows smaller brain regions involved in memory for
individuals with MCI
 Drug treatment of Alzheimer disease
Cholinerase inhibitors and other drugs slow the
downward progression of the disease
 Caring for individuals with Alzheimer disease
 Support is often emotionally and physically draining for
the family
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL_Gq7Shc-Y
Respite care services
PARKINSON DISEASE
Parkinson disease: A chronic,
progressive disease
characterized by muscle
tremors, slowing of movement,
and facial paralysis
 Causes
 Several treatments are available
FEAR OF VICTIMIZATION, CRIME, & ELDER
MISTREATMENT
 Fear of crime
 Institutional abuse
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y
EuivTYI64
 Older adults receive disproportionately
fewer mental health services
RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
• Older adults are spiritual
leaders in many societies
around the world
• Older adults have higher
levels of life satisfaction,
self-esteem, and optimism
• Religion provides important
psychological needs