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Definition
| prejudice or discrimination against a person (most commonly an older person) based on age. |
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| gradual, inevitable process of bodily deterioration throughout the life span. |
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Definition
| aging processes that result from disease and bodily abuse and disuse and are often preventable. |
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| measure of a person's ability to function effectively in his or her physical and social environment in comparison with others of the same chronological age. |
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Definition
| study of the aged and the process of aging. |
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Definition
| branch of medicine concerned with processes of aging and medical conditions associated with old age. |
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Term
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Definition
| age to which a person in a particular cohort is statistically likely to live (given his or her current age and health status), on the basis of average longevity of a population. |
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Definition
| length of an individual's life |
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Definition
| the longest period that members of a species can live. |
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Definition
| period of the life span marked by declines in physical functioning usually associated with aging; begins at different ages for different people. |
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Term
| genetic-programming theories |
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Definition
| theories that explain biological aging as resulting from a genetically determined developmental timetable. |
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Term
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Definition
| theories that explain biological aging as a result of processes that vary from person to person and are influenced by both the internal and the external environment; sometimes called error theories. |
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Term
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Definition
| conversion of food and oxygen into energy. |
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Term
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Definition
| unstable, highly reactive atoms or molecules, formed during metabolism, which can cause internal bodily damage. |
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Term
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Definition
| tendency of an aging body to mistake its own tissues for foreign invaders and to attack and destroy them. |
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Term
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Definition
| curves, plotted on a graph, showing percentages of a population that survive at each age level. |
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Term
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Definition
| genetically controlled limit, proposed by Hayflick, on the number of times cells can divide in members of a species. |
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Definition
| ability of body organs and systems to put forth four to ten times as much effort as usual under acute stress; also called organ reserve. |
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Term
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Definition
| cloudly or opaque areas in the lens of the eye, which cause blurred vision. |
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Term
| age-related macular degeneration |
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Definition
| condition in which the center of the retina gradually loses its ability to discern fine details; leading cause of irreversible visual impairment in older adults. |
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Term
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Definition
| irreversible damage to the optic nerve caused by increased pressure in the eye. |
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Term
| activities of daily living |
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Definition
| essential activities that support survival, such as eating, dressing, bathing, and getting around the house. |
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Term
| instrumental activities of daily living |
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Definition
| indicators of functional well-being and of the ability to live independently. |
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Definition
| deterioration in cognitive and behavioral functioning due to physiological causes. |
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Definition
| progressive, irreversible, degenerative brain disorder characterized by cognitive deterioration and loss of control of bodily functions, leading to death. |
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Definition
| progressive, irreversible degenerative neurological disorder, characterized by tremor, stiffness, slowed movement, and unstable posture. |
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Definition
| twisted masses of protein fibers found in brains of persons with Alzheimer's disease. |
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Term
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Definition
| waxy chunks of insoluble tissue found in brains of persons with Alzheimer's disease. |
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Term
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Definition
| hypothesized fund of energy that may enable a deteriorating brain to continue to function normally. |
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Term
| Weschsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) |
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Definition
| intelligence test for adults, which yields verbal and performance scores as well as a combined score. |
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Term
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Definition
| initial, brief, temporary storage of sensory information. |
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Term
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Definition
| short-term storage of information being actively processed. |
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Term
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Definition
| long-term memory of specific experiences or events, linked to time and place. |
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Definition
| long-term memory of general factual knowledge, social customs, and language. |
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Term
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Definition
| long-term memory of motor-skills, habits, and ways of doing things, which can be recalled without conscious effort; sometimes called implicit memory. |
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