01:830:101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 24: Prefrontal Cortex, Grey Matter, Implicit Memory

• School: Rutgers University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: 01:830:101
• Professor: L.Jacobs

Document Summary

Slower thinking is attributed to overall slowdown in reaction time, movement, speech, and thought. Neural fluid decreases, myelination thins, and cerebral blood circulates more slowly. Total volume of the brain becomes smaller. Gray matter volume is reduced in every part of the brain and white-matter lesions form. Senescence reduces the production of neurotransmitters including glutamate, acetylcholine, serotonin, and dopamine that allow a nerve impulse to jump quickly across the synaptic gap from one neuron to another. Shrinkage is particularly notable in the hippocampus (memory) and the areas of the prefrontal cortex that are needed for planning, inhibiting unwanted responses, and coordinating thoughts in every part of the brain. The volume of gray matter (crucial for processing new experiences) is reduced, in part because the cortex becomes thinner with every decade of adulthood. The hypothalamus (memory) and the prefrontal cortex (planning, inhibiting unwanted responses, and coordinating thoughts) shrink faster than other areas.