SCAMS:
Influencing the Aging Brain
Erik Lande, Ph.D.
Ventura County APS Rapid Response Team
UCSB, Psychology Assessment Center, Hosford Clinic
[email protected]
Scams
Why Do Scams Work?
Techniques of Persuasion
• Visceral rewards
• Emphasize urgency
• Demonstrate authority
• Use a personal touch
Techniques of Persuasion
• Visceral rewards
• Emphasize urgency
• Demonstrate authority
• Use a personal touch
The Aging Brain
Anatomical Changes
•Brain volume peaks around the 20’s
•Atrophy begins around the 40’s
Anatomical Changes
• Cerebral blood flow and metabolism
decline
Aging Effects on Thinking
•Speed of information processing slows
•Complex attention declines
•Problem-solving unfamiliar tasks
becomes harder
What Remains Strong As We Age
• Vocabulary, verbal reasoning,
comprehension, and arithmetic skills
• Well practiced/familiar
skills and knowledge
• Wisdom
• Basic attention
Frontal Lobe Hypothesis of Aging
West RL (1996) An application of prefrontal cortex function theory to cognitive aging.
Psychological Bulletin 120:272-292.
Frontal Lobe Hypothesis of Aging
West RL (1996) An application of prefrontal cortex function theory to cognitive aging.
Psychological Bulletin 120:272-292.
• PFC atrophies more
and quicker than
other brain regions
• PFC has vast
connections with
other brain regions,
so deficits here
affect many other
brain functions
• PFC atrophies more
and quicker than
other brain regions
• PFC has vast
connections with
other brain regions,
so deficits here
affect many other
brain functions
Iowa Gambling Test
IGT and the PFC
• PFC damage results
in difficulty learning
from one’s mistakes
and decreased selfawareness
• Similar to those with
disinhibition
conditions
IGT and Seniors
• Those over 55
generally do worse
than those under 55
• Similar performance
to those with
disinhibition
Denburg NL, Tranel D, Bechara A. The ability to decide
advantageously declines prematurely in some
normal older persons. Neuropsychologia 2005;43(7):1099–1106.
Denburg, N. L., Cole, C. A., Hernandez, M., Yamada, T. H., Tranel,
D., Bechara, A., & Wallace, R. B. (2007). The orbitofrontal cortex,
real-world decision-making, and normal aging. Annals of the New
York Academy of Sciences, 1121, 480–498.
Fein, G., McGillivray, S., & Finn, P. (2007). Older adults make less
advantageous decisions than younger adults: Cognitive and
psychological correlates. Journal of the International
Neuropsychological Society, 13, 480–489.
• 35% do much worse
than peers
IGT in Alzheimer’s and MCI
• Looks different
than that seen in
healthy seniors
• More random
responses and
poor strategy
stability
Zamarian, L., Weiss, E.M., & Delazer, M. (2010). The impact
of mild cognitive impairment on decision making in two
gambling tasks. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological
Sciences, 66B(1), 23–31,
Conclusions
• Aging disproportionately affects the
frontal lobe
• Results in decreased ability to process
information in a rapid and complex
manner
• Results in generally increased
susceptibility to scams involving urgency
and visceral/emotional information
Conclusions
• About 30% of otherwise healthy
seniors have even greater PFC atrophy
• Causes impulsivity, obsessiveness,
and poor judgment
• Regular abstract reasoning may be
fine, but reasoning involving
emotional/visceral ideas is poor and
an easy target for scammers
What Can We Do?
• Recognize Warning Signs and Make
Families Aware of these
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Changes in financial behavior
Memory lapses
Decreased checkbook management skills
Disorganization
Arithmetic mistakes
Financial concepts confusion
Generally impaired judgment
What Can We Do?
• Educate about scams, but realize education is often not
the problem, it is lack of insight into their deficits
• Educate by helping them learn about their own impaired
reasoning and impulsivity
• Once insight present, compensatory strategies such as
phone hang-up devices or financial assistance or
supervision may help
• Management of finances may become necessary
• REMEMBER, we want to help while respecting their
autonomy!
Consider a Professional
Evaluation
• Use a neutral expert who understands
capacity assessment
• Disciplines include geriatricians, neurologists,
psychiatrists, geropsychologists and
neuropsychologists
• Clearly identify the specific question you
want addressed!
www.InsightNeuropsychology.com
805-988-6197