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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