Wear and tear theory
A view of aging as a process by which the human body wears out because of the passage of time and exposure to environmental stressors.
Calorie restriction
The practice of limiting dietary energy intake (while consuming sufficient qualities of vitamins, minerals, and other important nutrients) for the purpose of improving health and slowing down the aging process.
Intermittent fasting
A pattern of eating that include periods of restricted eating interspersed with usual consumption. The most popular pattern is two days per week eating less than 750 calories and five days a week of normal eating, all while drinking plenty of water.
Maximum lifespan
The oldest possible age to which members of species can live under ideal circumstances. For humans, that age is approximately 122 years.
Cellular aging
The cumulative effect of stress and toxins, causing cellular damage died and eventually the death of cells.
Telomeres
The area of the tips of each chromosome that is reduced a tiny amount as time passes. By the end of life, the telomeres are very short.
Source amnesia
Forgetting where a particular piece of information came from. With source amnesia, a television ad, a strangers comment, and a doctors strong, personal advice are all equally valid, allowing a person to chose what to remember and to ignore the rest.
Prospective memory
Remembering something to be done in the future, such as a doctors appointment, a grocery purchase, or something to be retrieved from another room.
Control processes
The part of the information-processing system that regulates the analysis and flow of information. Memory and retrieval strategies, selective attention, and rules of strategies for problem solving are all useful control processes.
Ecological validity
The idea that measurement should be as realistic as possible, considering social context, so the date reflect real life.
Neuro cognitive disorder (NCD)
Any of a number of brain diseases that affect a persons ability to remember, analyze, plan, or interact with other people.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI)
When a person is somewhat more confused and forgetful than they were, but still able to function well.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD)
The most common cause of major NCD, characterized by gradual deterioration of memory and personality and marked by the formation of plaques of beta-amyloid protein and tangles of tau in the brain.
Vascular disease
Formerly called vascular or multi-infarct dementia, vascular disease is characterized by sporadic, and progressive, loss of intellectual functioning caused by repeated infarcts, or temporary obstructions of blood vessels, which prevent sufficient blood from reaching the brains
Frontotemporal NCDs
Deterioration of the amygdala and frontal lobes that may be the cause of 15 percent of all major neuro cognitive disorders. (Also called frontotemporal lobar degeneration)
Parkinson’s disease
A chronic, progressive disease that is characterized by muscle tremor and rigidity and sometimes major neuro cognitive disorder; caused by reduced dopamine production in the brain.
Lewy body disease
A form of major neuro cognitive disorder characterized by an increase in Lewy body cells in the brain. Symptoms include anxiety, tremors, brain fog, visual hallucinations, momentary loss of attention, falling, and fainting.
Poly pharmacy
A situation in which older people are prescribed several medication. The various side effects and interactions of those medications can result in dementia symptoms.
Self-actualizations
The final stage in Maslow hierarchy of needs, characterized by aesthetic, creative, philosophical, and spiritual understanding.
Life review
A persons remembering and recounting their past life, sometimes in writing, sometimes in orally. This helps them achieve Erikson’s final stage, integrity.
