The research question is, “How has current research in Alzheimer’s disease advanced our understanding of the aging process?”, and information to be cited must be pulled from ALL 4 articles. Please read these articles to develop a paper about the question.
There are two sample research papers from my institution. DO NOT copy from these papers they are an example of what my professor is looking for. DO NOT copy body paragraph headings they should be customized to the material provided.
The paper should be from 800-1000 words (excluding references and title page) with 8-12 paragraphs including an introduction and conclusion. Must be in Time New Roman, 12 pt font and double spaced. Use APA 6th edition.
PLEASE read all the instructions and marking criteria provided that will show the professor’s expectations for the paper.
PLEASE make sure to include a section about the strengths and limitations of the research. One limitation that needs to be listed is that the articles provided are old and outdated.
How has the Current Research in Alzheimer’s Disease Advanced our Understanding of the Aging Process?
Answers
How has the Current Research in Alzheimer’s Disease Advanced our Understanding of the Aging Process?
Alzheimer’s Disease is one of the most common diseases that affect people as they age. However, not every person experience the condition and related changes when aging. Nonetheless, changes are common, such as in cognitive capability, although they differ from one person to another. One of its defining characteristics is a decline in cognitive function, which progresses with time. People with the disease progressively lose their cognitive function, such as memory. The progressive decline of the function commences long before the development of dementia but continues long after. Therefore, researchers have focused on the actual decline process as well as the interventions that can play a critical role in slowing the progression. The purpose of the study is to explore the current Alzheimer’s Disease advanced our understanding of the aging process. Although many researchers have studied the subject, the study is limited to four articles with adequate evidence on the topic.
Molecular Understanding of Aging
The aging process is normal and comes with various changes in the cognitive functioning of an individual. Therefore, researchers have focused their understanding on trying to unravel the changes that accompany the process to create a better understanding and provide interventions to prevent negative outcomes, such as the detrimental decline of cognitive capability. Mann (1997) focused his study on the role of molecular biological tools in understanding the aging process and associated changes. Besides, the tools could be helpful to understand various diseases that accompany the aging process, such as Alzheimer’s Disease. The author suggests that changes in the aging process relate to genetic variations, which explains why some individuals are at a higher risk of the disorders than others. The study also reveals the potential role of control of gene expression in altering the changes and ensuring that that the elderly remain healthier longer. Therefore, molecular biological tools can be used in research to understand Alzheimer’s Disease and associated changes in aging.
Aging and Intelligence
Research on the aging process has also focused on the implications of different types of intelligence. For example, current evidence suggests that aging is associated with a decline in fluid intelligence, but crystallized intelligence remains relatively stable. Maylor (1994) focused on the hypothesis to test the impact of the aging process on the level of knowledge of the participants. Their study indicated that older adults performed better than younger subjects in general knowledge. However, the researcher revealed a considerable decline in fluid intelligence. The evidence led to the conclusion that after controlling for other factors, such as gender and education, age played an essential role in the decline of fluid intelligence among participants.
Cognitive Changes in Aging
Cognitive functioning plays a vital role in the normally-functioning and healthy individual but does not remain intact as one age. Taylor, Miller, and Tinklenberg (1992) focused their research on the change in cognitive functioning, particularly, changes in memory, as part of the aging process. The discovered complaints regarding memory loss among the participating older adults. They particularly discovered a decline in the performance in a test of verbal secondary episodic memory, which was in line with the self-reported complaints of memory loss. The study concluded that the participants began with a high memory capability when they were young, but the memory declined progressively as they aged. The findings relate to other studies that affirmed an impact on memory performance among older adults. Consequently, practitioners can focus on the cognitive changes when working with the elder, including those with Alzheimer’s Disease. The knowledge informs effective interventions, which are proven in research to help in slowing down the progressive loss of cognitive function.
Physical Activity and the Aging Process
Research has focused on the role of physical activity and its impact on the elderly, especially compared to younger subjects. Christensen et al. (1996) studied the effect of physical activity on the cognitive functioning of elderly individuals living in a community. Many professionals recommend the use of a physical activity to revert the cognitive decline among the elderly, including those with Alzheimer’s Disease. The study supported the practice by revealing that activities of daily living, education, and health improved cognitive performance, which would decline as a normal process of aging. Thus, activity levels affected the cognitive performance levels, which suggests its importance in minimizing the negative impact of conditions, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, which cause a decline in the function as one age.
Strengths and Limitations of the Research
Strengths
The research has some strengths that make it useful to inform practice. One of the strengths is that all the articles recorded information from primary data collection and analysis to answer the research questions. Therefore, they were highly objective and provided valid and reliable evidence to understand the aging process, focusing on the development of conditions, such as Alzheimer’s Disease. The studies provided a deeper understanding of the changes that accompany the aging process, using empirical evidence. As a result, the research is adequate to inform practice, such as the knowledge of the changes that accompany the aging process and potential interventions, such as physical activity, that could be useful in slowing the progression of the changes.
Limitations
Besides, the research has some limitations. One of them is that the articles provided are old and outdated, which makes it impossible to provide up-to-date evidence to use in practice. In fact, all the studies were conducted more than two decades ago, which affects the applicability in practice. Furthermore, results of some of the studies, such as Taylor, Miller, and Tinklenberg (1992) were not generalizable to other settings and populations because of limitations, such as a focus on highly educated, intelligent, and healthy subjects. For example, the results might not be generalizable to individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease, unless further research is conducted on such as sample.
Conclusion
Aging is a normal process but is accompanied by major changes in the physical and cognitive functioning of the individual. Research has focused on some of the major changes that occur in older adults and differ from when they are younger. For example, molecular biological tools provide evidence to support the claims that cognitive activity, such as memory, in older adults is different from that of younger subjects. Furthermore, research can reveal the specific areas of cognitive ability that are affected by the aging process, such as fluid intelligence. Therefore, other experts focus on the potential interventions that can help to slow down the detrimental impact of aging, such as physical activity. The research provides critical knowledge that practitioners can use to understand aging, related problems, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, and potential interventions, such as physical activity.
References
Christensen, H., Korten, A., Jorm, A. F., Henderson, A. S., Scott, R., & Mackinnon, A. J. (1996). Activity levels and cognitive functioning in an elderly community sample. Age and Ageing, 25(1), 72-80.
Mann, D. M. (1997). Molecular biology’s impact on our understanding of aging. British Medical Journal (BMJ), 315(7115), 1078-1081.
Maylor, E. A. (1994). Ageing and the retrieval of specialized and general knowledge: Performance of mastermind. British Journal of Psychology, 85(1), 105-114.
Taylor, J. L., Miller, T. P., & Tinklenberg, J. R. (1992). Correlates of memory decline: A four-year longitudinal study of older adults with memory complaints. Psychology and Aging, 7(2), 185-193.