activities of daily living (ADL)
basic self-maintenance tasks, including eating, dressing, bathing, toileting, transferring into and out of a bed or chair, and getting around the house
centenarians
someone who has reached the age of 100 years
compression of morbidity
illness or extreme disability will occur only during a narrow period of time immediately prior to death
compression of mortality
a phenomenon whereby a greater proportion of deaths will occur during a very narrow time period toward the upper limit of the human life span
executive function (EF)
a label for a variety of mechanisms that regulate thought and behaviour
instrumental activities of daily living (IADL)
the more complex activities required for carrying out the business of daily life, including preparing meals, shopping, managing money, doing housework, using the telephone, and taking medications
life expectancy
the average number of years people in a particular cohort are expected to live
life span
the maximum longevity, or extreme upper limit of time, that members of a species can live
longevity
the length and duration of life
medicaid
health care for the needy; a federally and state-funded program
medicare
the federal health insurance program that is the main source of health insurance for most older americans
morbidity
illness and disease
mortality
death
neuroimaging
use of quantitative techniques to study the structure and function of the central nervous system
neuropsychology
the study of brain-behaviour relationships
neuroscience
the study of the structure and function of the nervous system and brain
opioids
substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects
posterior-anterior shift in aging (PASA)
phenomenon in functional neuroimaging studies of aging characterized by age-related reductions in occipital activity alongside increases in frontal activity
prefrontal cortex (PFC)
brain region situated in the anterior, or forward, portion of the frontal lobes
primary aging
the unavoidable biological processes that are universal
secondary aging
the processes experienced by most, but not necessarily all, members of a species
programmed theories of biological aging
consider aging to be under the control of a genetically based blueprint
proteostasis
the process and mechanisms by which cells monitor and maintain protein balance when adapting to changing internal and external stimuli
rectangular survival curve
a trend toward a more rectangular shape of the survival curve due to increased survival and concentration of deaths around the mean age at death of the population
reserve capacity
under ordinary conditions, older adults may function just as well as young and middle-aged adults, but age-related differences become apparent when situations require more than the normal capacity
scaffolding theory of aging and cognition (STAC)
accounts for the possibility of both deficient and preserved performance on cognitive tasks
stereotype embodiment theory (SET)
theoretical model to explain the process by which age stereotypes influence the health of older adults
stochastic theories of biological aging
focus on random damage to our vital systems that occur in the process of living
telomeres
the protective caps at the tail ends of the chromosomes located in each cell
terminal drop
a rapid deterioration in cognitive abilities immediately before death