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Effect of Aging

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Effects of Aging on Cognitive Development
Natasha Veruchi
PSYCH 640
3/30/14
Professor Weisz Effects of Aging on Cognitive Development
As the society moves more towards the technological age, there also are advancements in medical technology that can prolong one’s life and solve medical issues that may be threatening one’s life. In the following paragraphs, there will be an evaluation of the effects of aging on cognitive development. These effects consist of physical decline as well as decline of one’s ability to obtain knowledge through their senses. There will also be examples provided to support the points as they are stated.
Working with the older population one comes to realize that the majority of the older population will develop some form of dementia or Alzheimer’s. Cognitive frailty is emerging as the highest of health issue for the older population. As Bishop, Lue,and Yanker discusses as the life expectancy increases so does the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s (2010). Aging effects several changes in the brain, as we grow older, the part of the brain that is responsible for cognitive functions show less coordination. As one ages, parts of the brain become inactive and others are affected by age even when they are free of disease (Bishop, Lue, and Yanker, 2010).
There are certain cognitive processes that are relevant to one learning new information and trying to remember the information learned. A general downward spiral of overt attention capacity is observed as one ages. Verbal and Visual-Spacial working memory is also affected. This memory is often decreased as one ages, as the working memory decreases one’s behavior changes which are also affected by neurological changes. One’s brain often makes extra neural networks to compensate for the declining memory functions in the older population.
As one ages they must deal with initial

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