Human Aspects of Human Aging - Article Example

Journal Article Analysis and Discussion Name Institution Date Journal Article Analysis and Discussion Introduction Human aging is a concept that has been analyzed by anthropologists based on various aspects. This is because the process of human aging comes with several changes. While these changes are related with respect to aging, they vary from human to human. Not all humans who are aged can experience the same changes at the same age. While some humans may remain vital and active at 90, some are extremely frail at 60. In addition, some older people have similar cognitive abilities to the younger people while other people demonstrate significant deficits in their cognitive functioning. Even with these differences, the general changes that occur among aging individuals are constant. This paper shall analyze two articles on human aspects of human aging. The first article by Lata and Alia (2007) is about the physiological aspects of aging while the second article by Brickman and Stern (2009) is about aging and memory in humans. Article 1: Ageing: Physiological Aspects. By Lata and Alia (2007) Summary Aging is defined as a continuous and irreversible reduction in the efficiency of several physiological processes when life’s reproductive phase is over. In the process of aging, there are various diseases that affect the aged and also contribute to the reduced efficiency of operation. While understanding the etiology of aging is an important factor, there lies a difference between the physiological changes that are associated with diseases to those that are normal. The changes experienced by an individual vary from person to person; with others having a rapid change while others having a dramatic change. Physiological changes that occur include changes in the various biological systems of the body, including the skin, the cardio-vascular system, musculo-skeletal system among others. These changes have their effects on the normal operation of the body, affecting one’s intelligence, their ability to learn and memorize and even affecting an individual’s personality. These changes are caused by various biological changes in the body of an individual with age. During the change of cardio-vascular system, various changes occur in the heart of an individual. This includes atrophy of muscles of the heart, heart valves begin to undergo calcification and artery walls lose their elasticity. This causes reduction in blood flow and this is the reason one experiences less stamina, less hepatic and renal function and reduced cellular nourishment. In addition, the respiratory systems of individuals begin to change. This is caused by loss of elasticity in the lung tissue and the airways. Cilia activity is also reduced as well as the uptake and exchange of oxygen. This affects the ability to take a deep breath, to release carbon dioxide and to cough. This also causes low stamina and high cases of fatigue. Changes in the musculo-skeletal system are caused by atrophy in all muscles and this is followed by muscle tissue replacement with fat deposits. This causes the muscles to lose their tone and strength. The body also loses calcium and bone density. This leads to osteoporosis and the capacity of the body to bear weight is also reduced. This could cause a spontaneous fracture. The vertebrae become thin and causes reduced height. Furthermore, the vertebrae may calcify and this leads to changes in posture. Joints begin to undergo changes and this is the reason for high cases of arthritis among the aged. Changes in the skin are caused by lose of oil glands and underlying fat layers. This causes wrinkles and the elasticity of the skin is also reduced. At this rate, one is highly susceptible to cold, bedsores and bruising. Age spots begin to develop because the melanin pigment is being deposited. Development of gray hair is caused by loss of hair pigmentation while nails thicken because there is low blood flow to connective tissues. The skin loses its sensitivity to heat, injury and cold. Individuals also experience changes in their gastrointestinal system. This is because of reduced production of hydrochloric acid, saliva and digestive enzymes. These changes cause distress in the gastrointestinal system, delayed stomach emptying and impaired swallowing. Changes in sexuality for women are characterized by ovarian atrophy, atrophy of uterine and vaginal tissues and reduced production of vaginal fluids. For men, there is a decrease in production of sperms while the prostate becomes enlarged. Aging also has changes in sensory organs, with changes in vision, hearing and taste and smell. The effects of these changes are manifested in poor intelligence performance. This is because the cognitive performance is affected as well as the ability to take in new information and reason abstractly. Individuals also suffer decrease in their ability to learn and memorize. The ability to accumulate new information is impaired as well as the ability to retrieve already stored information. As individuals approach aging, their personality changes. They become focused on their inner life and pay more attention to their personal experiences and feelings. Biologic theories brought forth to explain aging form a basis on wear and tear while others are based on the aspect of genetics. The wear and tear theory purports that the body cells become damaged with continuous overuse and abuse. Conclusion This article presents the various changes that are typical of aging. The article explains the changes in various body systems and creates a biological basis for the changes in aging. The reason for demonstration of different changes among aging individuals is accrued to their genetic heritage. However, the biological reasons for the changes in their abilities show the significance of biology in the culture of the author. Article 2: Aging and Memory in Humans. By Brickman and Stern, (2009) Summary Memory is defined as the implicit or explicit recall of information that had been decoded in the past. The memory has systems that operate differently and sum up the whole operation of the memory. These systems are considered as types of memory. Normal aging has different impacts on the different types of memory. Each of the memory type is affected differently by normal aging. Further, different individuals have their memories affected differently from each other during normal aging. In addition, cognitive aging has some mediators to it as well as potential moderators. Changes in the cognitive ability are a common occurrence in normal aging and this is partly attributed to the changes in memory that are caused by aging. One of the types of memory is semantic memory. This is refers to the recall of factual or general knowledge. This is among the stable memory systems across the life span of adults. This memory experiences little change with normal aging. In fact, accumulation of semantic knowledge increases as individuals approach their sixth and seventh decades. Close to semantic memory is the episodic memory which is the recollection of events. It is the “what,” “where” and “when” in storage of information. This memory binds together information stored in the semantic memory so as to form events that are related conceptually and are time based. But unlike semantic memory, episodic memory deteriorates with age. Another type of memory is the procedural memory. This refers to the acquiring of motoric sequences without one’s conscience. It is the acquisition of skills that enable one to perform certain tasks after practice. Aging adults perform tasks related to procedural memory at a slower rate than young adults. Priming is also a type of implicit memory referring to the implicit effect that previous exposure to stimulus has on a current test performance. With normal aging, the rate of priming shows a preservation of task performance while other studies show that there is no difference between the young and the aged in the operation of this memory. This shows that aging has little or no impact on priming memory. Short term memory refers to information that is stored for a few seconds. This information is stored in conscious awareness. This store has limited capacity and information can be easily forgotten. Information can be drawn from long term memory to the short term memory. The memory is related to working memory. This is because working memory refers to the ability to hold short term memory and manipulate information cognitively. Working memories have not been proven to be declining with aging. However, the abilities of the working memory decline with aging. In working memory, the efficiency smaller span and inhibition are vulnerable to aging effects. The speed of processing for short term memory has been shown to decline in a linear manner with aging. This is the reason that there areproblems with declining cognitive domains and memory related to aging. Therefore, working memory has been shown to decline with aging. Normal age associated decline in memory is not uniform. While older adults demonstrate worse performance on tasks of long term memory, younger adults show better performance. Memory changes across the life span of adults begin to be manifested from as early as early to mid-twenties. Episodic and working memories have shown decline in task performance from as early as the twenties. Various factors form mediators and moderators of cognitive aging. One of the modulators includes cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk. These are some of the causes of reduced cognitive abilities. These risk factors mediate the relationship that exists between neurobiological and chronological age changes. Factors such as increased blood pressure are associated with reduction in psychomotor speed, reduced learning and memory and executive functioning. However, this decline in memory with age is affected by nutritional exposure and individual genes. A relationship exists between neurobiology, normal aging and cognition. \ Conclusion Normal aging has been shown to demonstrate non-uniform decline in memory. Older adults have shown to perform worse in memory tasks, an indication that aging deteriorates memory. However, there are some memories like semantic memory that have been shown to be stable across the ages. The other types of memory deteriorate with normal aging. The article demonstrates a culture where aging is believed to bring significant skills and abilities in some memory abilities, like the semantic ability. It also shows that there are some abilities that are not entrusted on the older adults. This is because of their reduced memory ability. References Brickman, A. and Stern, Y. (2009).“Aging and Memory in Humans.”Encyclopedia of Neuroscience.Vol. 1 pp. 175-180. Lata, H. and Alia, L. (2007).“Ageing: Physiological Aspects.”JK Science. Vol. 9, No. 3. Pp. 111- 115. Read More