Final answer:
Elder adults experience significant declines in sensorimotor senses including smell, taste, hearing, and vision starting from their 60s, accompanied by slower reaction times and reduced muscle strength. Brain function may also decline, leading to higher risks of memory loss and diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's.
Step-by-step explanation:
During late adulthood, starting from the age of 60s onwards, individuals experience the last stage of physical change which includes a significant decline in sensorimotor senses such as smell, taste, hearing, and vision. This period is characterized by the skin losing its elasticity, slower reaction times, and decreasing muscle strength. The deterioration of sensory abilities makes it difficult for the elderly to enjoy foods as they used to, finding them less flavorful or too bland. For example, what a child might find excessively spicy, an elderly person might consider tasteless.
In addition to the changes in the sensorimotor functions, brain function also typically declines, leading to memory loss and an increased risk of diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Cognitive impairments due to Alzheimer's can result in severe forgetfulness and loss of basic functions like walking and talking. Moreover, researchers have found that older people have a decline in brain functioning related to the degeneration of corticostriatal connections, which contribute to slower and less accurate responses in certain tasks compared to younger people. Also, the psychosocial development in elderly people shows that, while social networks might shrink, the closeness in relationships usually remains or even becomes stronger. Understanding these changes can help in developing strategies to support the health and well-being of older adults.