Module 13: Adulthood

Sensory Abilities: Vision, hearing, muscle strength, smell, distance perception all diminish Health: Immune system weaken but there is accumulated antibodies *13% of people over 65 live in nursing homes Aging and Disease: Dementia- The erosion of brain tissue caused by small strokes, brain tumors, or alcoholism Alzheimers Disease- a progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and finally physical functioning. Also characterized by emotional flatness, disorientation, incontinence, mental vacancy, and a decrease in production of Ach (destroys hippocampus) Do cognitive abilities such as memory and reasoning decline like physical abilities? YES Primary Point- Ability to recall info (remembering without cues) decline but recognition ability (MC) remains stable with age Aging and Intelligence Crystallized Intelligence- Ones accumulation of knowledge, vocab, and analogies (increases with age) Fluid Intelligence- Ability to reason quickly and abstractly when solving novel problems (declines with age)