The neuroscience of advancing age PDF Download

Author: George M Opie
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2832522920
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309172195
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
Possible new breakthroughs in understanding the aging mind that can be used to benefit older people are now emerging from research. This volume identifies the key scientific advances and the opportunities they bring. For example, science has learned that among older adults who do not suffer from Alzheimer's disease or other dementias, cognitive decline may depend less on loss of brain cells than on changes in the health of neurons and neural networks. Research on the processes that maintain neural health shows promise of revealing new ways to promote cognitive functioning in older people. Research is also showing how cognitive functioning depends on the conjunction of biology and culture. The ways older people adapt to changes in their nervous systems, and perhaps the changes themselves, are shaped by past life experiences, present living situations, changing motives, cultural expectations, and emerging technology, as well as by their physical health status and sensory-motor capabilities. Improved understanding of how physical and contextual factors interact can help explain why some cognitive functions are impaired in aging while others are spared and why cognitive capability is impaired in some older adults and spared in others. On the basis of these exciting findings, the report makes specific recommends that the U.S. government support three major new initiatives as the next steps for research.

Author: Roger A. Dixon
Publisher: Oxford : Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780198525691
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 390

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Book Description
With an ever increasing population of aging people in the western world, it is more crucial than ever that we try to understand how and why cognitive competence breaks down with advancing age; why do some people follow normal patterns of cognitive change, while others follow a path of progressive decline, with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. What can be done to prevent cognitive decline - or to avoid neurodegenerative diseases? The answers, if they come, will not emerge from research within one discipline, but from work being done across a range of scientific and medical specialities. This volume brings together leading experts from a range of fields studying cognitive aging, including neuroscience, pharmacology, health, genetics, sensory biology, and epidemiology. Unlike other books in this area, this book is more about 'new frontiers' than past research and accomplishments. Recently cognitive aging research has taken several new directions, linking with, and benefiting from, rapid technological and theoretical advances in these neighbouring disciplines. This book provides unique interdisciplinary coverage of the topic. With each chapter including commentaries from specialists in related fields, the book provides an integrative study of the topic. For those within the fields of psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and geriatrics, this volume will make an important contribution in furthering our understanding of a problem that affects us all.

Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309368650
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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For most Americans, staying "mentally sharp" as they age is a very high priority. Declines in memory and decision-making abilities may trigger fears of Alzheimer's disease or other neurodegenerative diseases. However, cognitive aging is a natural process that can have both positive and negative effects on cognitive function in older adults - effects that vary widely among individuals. At this point in time, when the older population is rapidly growing in the United States and across the globe, it is important to examine what is known about cognitive aging and to identify and promote actions that individuals, organizations, communities, and society can take to help older adults maintain and improve their cognitive health. Cognitive Aging assesses the public health dimensions of cognitive aging with an emphasis on definitions and terminology, epidemiology and surveillance, prevention and intervention, education of health professionals, and public awareness and education. This report makes specific recommendations for individuals to reduce the risks of cognitive decline with aging. Aging is inevitable, but there are actions that can be taken by individuals, families, communities, and society that may help to prevent or ameliorate the impact of aging on the brain, understand more about its impact, and help older adults live more fully and independent lives. Cognitive aging is not just an individual or a family or a health care system challenge. It is an issue that affects the fabric of society and requires actions by many and varied stakeholders. Cognitive Aging offers clear steps that individuals, families, communities, health care providers and systems, financial organizations, community groups, public health agencies, and others can take to promote cognitive health and to help older adults live fuller and more independent lives. Ultimately, this report calls for a societal commitment to cognitive aging as a public health issue that requires prompt action across many sectors.

Author: Pamela M. Greenwood
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889634892
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Author: Daniel J. Levitin
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1524744190
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 363

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INSTANT TOP 10 BESTSELLER • New York Times • USA Today • Washington Post • LA Times “Debunks the idea that aging inevitably brings infirmity and unhappiness and instead offers a trove of practical, evidence-based guidance for living longer and better.”—Daniel H. Pink, author of When and Drive SUCCESSFUL AGING delivers powerful insights: • Debunking the myth that memory always declines with age • Confirming that "health span"—not "life span"—is what matters • Proving that sixty-plus years is a unique and newly recognized developmental stage • Recommending that people look forward to joy, as reminiscing doesn't promote health Levitin looks at the science behind what we all can learn from those who age joyously, as well as how to adapt our culture to take full advantage of older people's wisdom and experience. Throughout his exploration of what aging really means, using research from developmental neuroscience and the psychology of individual differences, Levitin reveals resilience strategies and practical, cognitive enhancing tricks everyone should do as they age. Successful Aging inspires a powerful new approach to how readers think about our final decades, and it will revolutionize the way we plan for old age as individuals, family members, and citizens within a society where the average life expectancy continues to rise.

Author: Judith Horstman
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118234642
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Good news about getting older from Scientific American and Scientific American Mind The Scientific American Healthy Aging Brain taps into the most current research to present a realistic and encouraging view of the well-aged brain, a sobering look at what can go wrong––and at what might help you and your brain stay healthy longer. Neurologists and psychologists have discovered the aging brain is much more elastic and supple than previously thought, and that happiness actually increases with age. While our short-term memory may not be what it was, dementia is not inevitable. Far from disintegrating, the elder brain can continue to develop and adapt in many ways and stay sharp as it ages. Offers new insights on how an aging brain can repair itself, and the five best strategies for keeping your brain healthy Shows how older brains can acquire new skills, perspective, and productivity Dispels negative myths about aging Explores what to expect as our brains grow older With hope and truth, this book helps us preserve what we’ve got, minimize what we’ve lost, and optimize the vigor and health of our maturing brains.

Author: Roberto Cabeza
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199372934
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 633

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A rapidly growing body of research has consituted a new discipline that may be called cognitive neuroscience of aging. This book offers an introduction to the topic, useful to both professionals & students in cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, neuropsychology & neurology.

Author: Moshe Naveh-Benjamin
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 1136583025
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 441

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Book Description
Current demographical patterns predict an aging worldwide population. It is projected that by 2050, more than 20% of the US population and 40% of the Japanese population will be older than 65. A dramatic increase in research on memory and aging has emerged to understand the age-related changes in memory since the ability to learn new information and retrieve previously learned information is essential for successful aging, and allows older adults to adapt to changes in their environment, self-concept, and social roles. This volume represents the latest psychological research on different aspects of age-related changes in memory. Written by a group of leading international researchers, its chapters cover a broad array of issues concerning the changes that occur in memory as people grow older, including the mechanisms and processes underlying these age-related memory changes, how these changes interact with social and cultural environments, and potential programs intended to increase memory performance in old age. Similarly, the chapters draw upon diverse methodological approaches, including cross-cultural extreme group experimental designs, longitudinal designs assessing intra-participant change, and computational approaches and neuroimaging assessment. Together, they provide converging evidence for stability and change in memory as people grow older, for the underlying causes of these patterns, as well as for the heterogeneity in older adults’ performance. Memory and Aging is essential reading for researchers in memory, cognitive aging, and gerontology.

Author: Roberto Cabeza
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199728364
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 425

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Book Description
Until very recently, our knowledge about the neural basis of cognitive aging was based on two disciplines that had very little contact with each other. Whereas the neuroscience of aging investigated the effects of aging on the brain independently of age-related changes in cognition, the cognitive psychology of aging investigated the effects of aging on cognition independently of age-related changes in the brain. The lack of communication between these two disciplines is currently being addressed by an increasing number of studies that focus on the relationships between cognitive aging and cerebral aging. This rapidly growing body of research has come to constitute a new discipline, which may be called cognitive neuroscience of aging. The goal of Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging is to introduce the reader to this new discipline at a level that is useful to both professionals and students in the domains of cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, neuropsychology, neurology, and other, related areas. This book is divided into four main sections. The first section describes noninvasive measures of cerebral aging, including structural (e.g., volumetric MRI), chemical (e.g., dopamine PET), electrophysiological (e.g., ERPs), and hemodynamic (e.g., fMRI), and discusses how they can be linked to behavioral measures of cognitive aging. The second section reviews evidence for the effects of aging on neural activity during different cognitive functions, including perception and attention, imagery, working memory, long-term memory, and prospective memory. The third section focuses on clinical and applied topics, such as the distinction between healthy aging and Alzheimers disease and the use of cognitive training to ameliorate age-related cognitive decline. The last section describes theories that relate cognitive and cerebral aging, including models accounting for functional neuroimaging evidence and models supported by computer simulations. Taken together, the chapters in this volume provide the first unified and comprehensive overview of the new discipline of cognitive neuroscience of aging.