Aging

Declining function in normal aging Working memory declines in normal aging Frontal lobes

Declining function in normal aging Working memory declines in normal aging Frontal lobes Some types of priming are impaired in normal aging Priming for perceptual aspects of stimuli rather than for concepts Perceptual areas Visual-spatial attention Parietal lobes

Visual-spatial search tasks x e e o i f g t e e y v l o k h n s h b e e t o k e f r n b n e u y h x i v z q t b

Visual-spatial search tasks x e e p j i f g g u e j u e p x t q o x e o v h l c f c e h e c o n o k h n n f j s a h k q h e t e e t o e b y r v h r e f n q n g i n g f c u e y h x e n w i n z q t m b b v

Face Recognition Temporal lobes, face recognition areas Seems to involve explicit memory more than face processing Possibly related changes in brain imaging Increased activity in prefrontal cortex, face processing areas, hippocampus in aging Related to performance

Brain changes in normal aging Cell loss Not seen in some studies Plaques and tangles Occur in normal aging as well as Alzheimer’s Number of tangles is related to Alzheimer’s, not number of plaques Decrease in white matter (glial cells) Decrease in cortical size

Estrogen replacement in post-menopausal women Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) may improve memory function in aging women Patients undergoing ERT showed more blood flow in hippocampus and related areas Appears to affect blood flow, not structure May be involved in memory changes, risk for Alzheimer’s

Effects of experience on aging There is some evidence that education protects against some of the negative effects of aging Increased life span Perhaps a decrease in aging related disease (e.g., Alzheimer’s). Mechanisms More active metabolism decreased cell death Increased number of synapses from early experience May protect against effects of stress on hippocampus through increased activation Improved support system – glial cells