Primary Aging

Gradual, inevitable process of bodily deterioration throughout the life span.

Secondary Aging

Aging process which results from disease and bodily abuse and disuse which are often preventable.

Functional Age

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.

Gerontology

Study of the aged and the process of aging.

Geriatrics

Branch of medicine concerned with the process of aging and age-related medical conditions.

Life Expectency

Age to which a person in a particular cohort is statistically likely to live (given current age and health status), on the basis of average longevity of a population.

Longevity

Length of an individual lifespan

Senescence

Period of the lifespan marked by changes in the physical functioning associated with aging; begins at different ages for different people.

Genetic Programming Theory

Theories that explain biological aging as resulting from a genetically determined developmental timetable.

Variable Rate Theories

Theories explaining biological aging as a processes that vary from person to person, and are influenced by both internal and external factors.

Reserve Capacity

Ability of body organs to put forth 4 to 10 times as much effort as usual under stress.

Cataracts

A clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its envelope, varying in degree from slight to complete opacity and obstructing the passage of light.

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

  A loss of vision in the center of the visual field. Can make it difficult or impossible to read or recognize faces, or fine details, although enough peripheral vision remains to allow other activities of daily life. Leading cause of irreverisble visual impairment in older adults that.

Glaucoma

A disease in which the optic nerve is damaged, leading to progressive, irreversible loss of vision.

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)

Activities performed during the course of a normal day, such as eating, dressing, or bathing. Essential activities for supporting survival.

Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs)

Activities indicating the ability to live independently, such as managing money, shopping, travel in community, housekeeping, preparing meals, and taking medications correctly.

Dementia

A serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging.

Alzheimer's Disease

Progressive, degenerative brain disorder characterized by irreversible deterioration in memory, intelligence, awareness, and control of bodily functions, eventually leading to death.

Cognitive Reserve

Describes the mind's resilience to neuropathological damage of the brain. Using a computer analogy, it would be seen as software.

Sensory Memory

The ability to retain impressions of sensory information after the original stimulus has ceased.

Working Memory

Short-term storage of information being actively processed.

Episodic Memory

Long-term memory of specific experiences or events, linked to time and place.

Semantic Memory

Long-term memory of general factual knowledge, social customs, and language.

Procedural Memory

Long-term memory of motor skills, habits, and ways of doing things, which often can be recalled without concious effort.

Life Span

The longest period the members of a species can live