PSC 156 Chapter 5 Neuroscience Biology of Aging

A researcher wants to study how the brain responds in real-time

when participants watch an emotional movie clip. Which

neuroimaging technique would be most appropriate for this study?

A) MRI

B) fMRI

C) EEG

D) CT

B (technically C)

A neurologist wants to examine detailed images of a patient’s

brain to check for structural abnormalities, such as a tumor or

brain shrinkage. Which neuroimaging technique should they use?

A) MRI

B) fMRI

C) EEG

D) CT

A (technically D)

What is brain maintenance?

: preservation of the brain by

minimizing the effects of age or pathology,

typically via a healthy lifestyle

What is cognitive reserve?

variability observed between

the extent of brain damage and the clinical and

cognitive manifestations

Which statement best describes the concept of cognitive reserve?

A) It refers to the brain's ability to repair physical damage caused by

injury or disease

B) It describes the individual differences in the brain’s resilience to aging

or pathology, often influenced by life experiences like education and

mental activity

C) It is the process by which the brain maintains its structure and

function by removing damaged cells

D) It involves the brain’s ability to generate new neurons throughout the

lifespan.

B

A researcher is studying why some older adults show little to no

cognitive decline despite aging. The researcher finds that these

individuals have fewer markers of brain pathology, such as

reduced white matter damage and lower levels of amyloid plaques.

Which concept does this finding best reflect?

A) Neurogenesis

B) Neural compensation

C) Cognitive reserve

D) Brain maintenance

D

What is Constructional Apraxia: and what neuroimaging approach is it associated with?

Neuropsychological, inability to

correctly draw or copy an image

What is the neuropsychological approach?

Compares healthy older adults with those

with pathological disorders or symptoms or brain damage

Ex:

→ Inability to draw a clock, likely right

parietal lesion

→ May be an indicator of dementia

Starts with brain damage

• Asks: what cognitive functions are

impacted?

• Uses patterns of cognition/cog deficits

• If damage in brain region X leads to

problem Y, then area X supports

function Y

What is the neurocorrelational appoach?

: links

measures of behavioral performance to

measures of neural structure

‘E.g., MRI and neuropsyc battery →

lesions on scan would be associated

with deficits on cognitive tasks

• An indirect measure

• Limited utility
Starts with individual differences in brain

structure/activity

• Asks: how do differences related to

cognition?

• Uses brain imaging

• People with more/less activity or volume in

brain region X perform better/worse on Y

Different from Activation Imaging because task done separately from imaging

A neuropsychologist tests a patient who has sustained damage to

the occipital lobe and shows difficulty with visual perception tasks.

Based on this, the neuropsychologist infers that the occipital lobe

is involved in processing visual information. Which research

approach is the neuropsychologist using?

A) Neuropsychological Approach

B) Neuro-correlational Approach

C) Experimental Cognitive Approach

D) Brain Maintenance Approach

A

A researcher is studying how memory performance is linked to

specific brain regions in older adults. They use MRI scans to

measure hippocampal volume and analyze how these structural

differences correlate with scores on a memory task. Which

approach is the researcher using?

A) Neuropsychological Approach

B) Neuro-correlational Approach

C) Experimental Cognitive Approach

D) Brain Maintenance Approach

B

A clinician compares the memory performance of individuals with

damage to the hippocampus to those without brain damage, in

order to understand how the hippocampus contributes to memory.

Which approach is being used?

A) Neuropsychological Approach

B) Neuro-correlational Approach

C) Experimental Cognitive Approach

D) Brain Maintenance Approach

A

What is the activation imaging approach?

Links

functional brain activity with cognitive

behavioral data (real-time data)

direct measure

• fMRI, NIRS, SPECT or PET scans

• Assessment of cognitive functioning is common

Basically measuring activity as you perform a task within measuring mechanism like while in fMRI for example, unlike neuro-correlational

What are 5 examples of neuronal age-related changes?

-Number of neurons declines

• Number and size of dendrites decreases

• Tangles develop in axon fibers

• Increases in deposits of proteins

• Number of synapses decreases

What are 3 examples of neurotransmitter age-related changes?

Damage to structures that use acetylcholine

→ associated with memory declines

• Abnormal processing of serotonin

→ related to cognitive decline

• Dopamine: important for emotion, movement, pleasure &

pain; Higher-level cognition: attention, planning, inhibition

→ Parkinson’s: caused by impairment/death of neurons in

area of the brain important for movement

What are 2 examples of brain structure age-related changes?

• Considerable shrinkage occurs in the

brain Especially in prefrontal cortex,

hippocampus, and cerebellum

• Degeneration in particular areas of

the brain = consequences for

memory (e.g., hippocampus)

What are 3 additional age related changes in bodily function and brain composition?

Reduced blood flow

• Declines in both grey (cell bodies) and white matter

(myelinated sheaths) - more pronounced in the pre-

frontal regions of the brain, but there is general

degradation of other areas

• Sensory loss causes increased load on the brain as it tries

to compensate = decreased cognitive abilities

What are compensatory changes?

Allow older adults to adapt to

the inevitable behavioral

decline resulting from changes

in specific areas of the brain.

Which of the following is a typical change in neurons during aging

or neurodegenerative processes?

A) Increase in the number of synapses

B) Increase in the size of dendrites

C) Decrease in myelination

D) Decrease in protein deposits

C

Which brain structure is particularly affected by degeneration in

neurodegenerative diseases, often leading to cognitive decline?

A) Occipital lobe

B) Medulla oblongata

C) Spinal cord

D) Hippocampus

D

What is compensation for neural change?

Not just decreases in activation

→ Increased activation and various patterns of activation (for example, increased activity in frontal lobe for verbal working memory task)

• Expectation: deficits in older

adults = less neural activity

• Instead:

• low-functioning older

adults = same neural activity

• High-functioning older adults

are better able to compensate

for normative degeneration

What is the metabolic theory of aging?

an organism has a finite amount of energy

• [Metabolism: ability to break down molecules to get energy]

• Caloric reduction may be associated with longer lifespan → reduces IGF-1 → delay or

prevent onset of metabolic diseases

• Fasting may be more effective than caloric restriction

What is the cellular theory of aging?

The Hayflick limit: cells can only divide so many times

• Upper boundary: may be regulated by telomere length → ends of chromosomes =

telomeres → adjust the cell’s response to stress and growth → age-related shortening

• Growing evidence that antioxidants postpone age-related diseases

Senescence: declining ability for cells to divide and grow

aging results from the progressive accumulation of damage within cells and the loss of their ability to divide and function, leading to tissue dysfunction and organismal aging

What is brain plasticity and what facilitates it?

The changes in the structure and function

of the brain as the result of the interaction between the

brain and the environment.

Cognitive training → increases neural activity and strength of

connections

• Brain cells can regenerate, under the right circumstances

Exercise is better than current medications!

• Animal studies: capillary development, neurogenesis, increases serotonin and receptor

sites for dopamine, decreases amyloid

• Facilitates neural plasticity (e.g., increases hippocampal volume)

• Decreases brain shrinkage related to aging

• Increases blood flow, increases neural activity

Take away: Exercising across the entire

lifespan, even in older adulthood, is important

• Decreases the risk of dementia by 30-45%

Nutrition: Vitamins B, C, D, E, and omega-3 fatty acids reduce

structural brain changes, prevalent in mediterranean diet