1 TO 13 ACTUAL TEST 2026 VERIFIED
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS COMPREHENSIVE
STUDY GUIDE
◉ CRUNCH model.
Answer: A model that describes how the aging brain adapts to
neurological decline by recruiting additional neural circuits to
perform tasks adequately.
◉ Compensatory changes.
Answer: Change that allows older adults to adapt to the inevitable
behavioral decline resulting from changes in specific areas of the
brain.
◉ Dopamine.
Answer: A neurotransmitter associated with higher level cognitive
functioning.
◉ Free Radicals.
Answer: Substances that can damage cells, including brain cells, and
play a role in cancer and other disease as we grow older.
,◉ Hippocampus.
Answer: Located in the medial-temporal lobe, this part of the brain
plays a major role in memory and learning.
◉ Limbic System.
Answer: A set of brain structures involved with emotion, motivation,
and long-term memory, among other functions.
◉ Neural stem cell.
Answer: Cells that persist in the adult brain and can generate new
neurons throughout the life span.
◉ Neuroanatomy.
Answer: Study of the structure of the brain.
◉ Neurofibers.
Answer: Structures in the neuron that carry information inside the
neuron from the dendrites to the terminal branches.
◉ Neurons.
Answer: A brain cell.
◉ Neuroscience.
, Answer: Study of the brain.
◉ Neurotransmitters.
Answer: Chemicals that carry information signals between neurons
across the synapse.
◉ Plasticity.
Answer: Involves the interaction between the brain and the
environment and is mostly used to describe the effects of experience
on the structure and functions of the neural system.
◉ Scaffolding Theory of Cognitive Aging.
Answer: A model based on the idea that age-rated changes in one's
ability to function reflect a life-long process of compensating for
cognitive decline by recruiting additional brain areas.
◉ Synapse.
Answer: The gap between neurons across which neurotransmitter
travel.
◉ Activities of daily living (ADLs).
Answer: Basic self-care tasks such as eating, bathing, toileting,
walking, and dressing.