Group 2 Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood Cognitive Functioning in Older Adults, Language Development (Limit reporting to 15-20 minutes and prepare a 5 item short quiz.) DELGADO, Denisse Kaye D. GABUTAN, Aisey G. GERASTA, Princess P. GRANZON, Brynov Angel C. GRANZON, Lythashey-Grant M. vyyyy Book reference: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dtGkilbNgY3xqqTbCgMn9z9iCssVeDrY /view2usp=shari ng Cognitive Functioning in Older Adults © Multidimensionality & Multidirectionality pg 566-573 = Cognitive Mechanics and Cognitive Pragmatics, Speed of Processing, Attention (AISEY) = Memory (group member Shey & Angel) = Executive Functioning, Wisdom (group member Angel) ¢ Education, Work & Health pg 573-577 ( group member 4 - DELGADO ) © Cognitive Neuroscience & Aging pg 577-578 (group member Cess) Language Development pg 579-580 (group member Cess) C Focus on the bold and italicized parts O Loosely follow the 7x7 ppt rule before O CANVA LINK hittps://www,canva,com/design/DAF1Pvj8tm4/9CMdxxEYgSLkUCgSaBP4nQ Jedit?utm_content=DAF1Pvj8tm4&utm_campai lesignshare&utm_ medi k2&utm_source=sharebutton= Cognitive Mechanics and Cognitive Pragmatics, Speed of Processing, Attention Cognitive Mechanics The “hardware of the mind” Refer to the structure of the brain and the areas that control functions that tend to decline with age. The decline in cognitive mechanics begin as soon as early midlife Components: = Speed and accuracy in sensory input - Attention - Visual and motor memory = Discrimination - Comparison - Categorization processes Cognitive Pragmatics Culture-based “software programs” of the mind Tend to be steady or even improve in later adulthood Examples: - Reading and writing skills - Language comprehension + Educational qualifications - Professional skills - Knowledge about the self - Life skills for mastering and coping with life Speed of Processing Slows down in late adulthood Individuals have different processing speed abilities Accumulate knowledge compensate to some degree for slower processing speed Decline in processing speed is likely due to a decline in functioning of the brain and central nervous system Exercise and good health might slow down decline = one study shows 6 months of Aerobic exercise improved reaction time in older adultsAttention = Changes in attention play an important role in the cognitive aging process - Older adults are less likely to ignore distracting information than younger adults - Distractions get worse as attentional demands increase - Great distractibility > less effective brain functions - Frontal and parietal lobes, in charge of thinking control, are affected = Memory Memory - Memory does change during aging, but not all memory changes with age in the same way. Episodic Memory - Is the retention of information about the where and when of life’s happenings. Semantic Memory - Aperson's knowledge about the world Cognitive Resource: Working Memory and Perceptual Speed Working Memory - Is closely jinked to short-term memory but places more emphasis on memory as a place for mental work, - Working memory is like a mental “workbench”, Perceptual Speed - Isa cognitive resource that involves the ability to perform simple perceptual motor tasks. Explicit and Implicit Memory Explicit Memory = Memory of facts and experiences that individuals consciously know and can state. Implicit Memory - Memory without conscious recollection,Source Memory = The ability to remember where one learned something. Prospective Memory - Itinvolves remembering to do something in the future. Noncognitive Factors Conclusions about Memory and Aging = Executive Functioning, Wisdom Executive Functioning - Isan umbrella-like concept that consists of a number. - General aspects of executive functioning decline in late adulthood, there is considerable variability in executive functioning among older adults. Ex, Some older adults have a better working memory and are more cognitively flexible than other older adults. Wisdom ~ Is expert knowledge about the practical aspects of life * Education, Work & Health 4 - only for discussing Education, work, and health > important influences on the cognitive functioning of older adults Education > Successive generations are better educated ‘4 Not only were today's older adults more likely to go to college when they were young adults than were their parents or grandparents, but more older adults are returning to college today to further their education than in past generations More educational experience = positive scores in intelligence test, memoryexercises Less educational experience = lower cognitive abilities \ frequently engaging in cognitive activities improved their episodic memory Work Successive generations included stronger emphasis on cognitively oriented labor (information society) 4 great-grandfathers and grandfathers were more likely to be manual laborers in the past industrial society > higher level of cognitive stimulation in & out of work was linked to improve cognitive functioning over a 10-year period Health > Successive generations are healthier because of the development of better treatment of illnesses Hypertension and Diabetes linked to lower cognitive performance do not directly cause mental decline Alzheimer |, has devastating effect on older adults’ physical & cognitive functioning m= The following lifestyle influence cognitive functioning: 1. Poor eating habits + inactivity + stress = physical & mental decline ‘4 Ex: high level of trans fat mood disorder (depression) = age-related cognitive decline 2. Exercise = better performance on cognitive task (memory + reasoning) |, Aerobic exercise © through recruitment of neural circuits in the prefrontal and parietal regions of the brain = Terminal Decline \, emphasizes that changes in cognitive functioning may be linked more to distance from death or cognition-related pathology slow and steady pre-death cognitive change USE IT OR LOSE IT ‘4 Changes in cognitive activity patterns might result in disuse of cognitive skills. intellectual and social engagement likely benefit the maintenance of cognitive skills: + reading books 4 doing crossword puzzles 4 going to lectures4 going to concerts 4 playing music TRAINING COGNITIVE SKILLS folder adults are losing cognitive skills, can they be retrained? 4 An increasing number of research studies indicate that this is possible to some degree Two key conclusions: (1) training can improve the cognitive skills of many older adults, but (2) there is some loss in plasticity in late adulthood (especially 85yo + ) '* Cognitive Neuroscience & Aging Cognitive Neuroscience - Has emerged as the major discipline that studies links between brain activity and cognitive functioning. - This field especially relies on brain imaging techniques, such as fMRI, PET, and DTI (diffusion tensor imaging) to reveal the areas of the brain that are activated when individuals engage in certain cognitive activities. * For example, as an older adult is asked to encode and then retrieve verbal materials or images of scenes, the older adult's brain activity will be monitered by an fMRI brain scan. Aging = Older adults are more likely than younger adults to use both hemispheres of the brain to compensate for aging declines in attention, memory, and language. - Recent research, individuals whose memory and executive functioning declined in middle age had more hippocampal atrophy in late adulthood, but those whose memory and executive functioning improved in middle age did not show a decline in hippocampal functioning in late adulthood. - Arecent study revealed that younger adults had more connections between brain activations in frontal, occipital, and hippocampal regions than older adults during a difficult encoding task.Language Development Language Developement = Often involves the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon - Older adults also report that in less than ideal listening conditions they can have difficulty in understanding speech. - This Difficulty is mostly like to occur when speech is rapid, competing stimuli are present (a noisy room for example) and they can't see their conversation partner (in a telephone conversation, for example) - The Difficulty in understanding speech may be due to hearing loss - Ingeneral, most language skills decline little among older adults if they are healthy. - Some aspects of the phonological skills of older adults from those of younger adults - Older adult's speech is typically lower in volume, slower, less precisely articulated, and less fluent (more pauses, fillers, repetition, and corrections) QUIZ TIME 1. Mr B is struggling to recall the details of the movie he watched yesterday, a.common challenge in old age. Itis associated with declarative memory, also called : a. Implicit Memory b. Source Memoryd. Explicit Memory 2. The following benefits the maintenance of cognitive skills in late adulthood, except: going to concerts playing music eating mcdonalds ._ playing monopoly aoc 3. Cognitive mechanics may decline in old age. Cognitive pragmatics may improve in old age. a. Both statements are false. b, Both statements are true, c. First statement is false, the second statement is true. d. First statement is true, the second statement is false. 4, Ms. J, a 75-year old woman, struggles with memory recall. As an occupational therapist, how would you modify the living environment of Ms. J to support her memory and address the challenges she is facing, a. Increase the amount of clutter in her home, this helps improve her memory b. Discourage relying on routines to promote cognitive flexibility ¢. Place visual cues and organizational systems in her home d. Reducing safety measures in her home, encouraging her to be self-reliant 5. What type of activities would you suggest to a person in their late adulthood who has difficulty with their cognitive mechanics? a. Watching television late at night b. Engage in sudoku puzzles and crossword games c. Perform vigorous activities d. Slow dancing to music