Ilana Bennett, Ph.D.
Most of us experience that our memory gets worse as we get older. But, in fact, not all forms of memory decline with age. And it’s not just about aging. Across the lifespan, there are some adults who have worse memory than their peers. My research focuses on these individual- and age-related differences in memory and whether they can be attributed to changes in our brain as we age. Our studies use a combination of behavioral tasks and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in younger and older adults to characterize the effect of aging on our brain structure and function and how it relates to our ability to learn and remember.
CURRENT STUDIES
- Do regions beyond the hippocampus support memory?
- How does hippocampal structure differ in aging?
- Does learning engage multiple memory systems
Rachel Wu, Ph.D.
My research investigates how we learn from infancy to older adulthood. Our goal is to better understand cognitive development and cognitive aging and to use cognitive development strategies to help people maximize their potential for learning new skills at any age. We use neural (EEG) and behavioral (eye-tracking, accuracy/reaction time) responses to investigate how infants and adults differ in their approaches to finding and learning about relevant information. Our research program has two components: 1) measuring adults’ use of previously acquired knowledge and tracking the development of this ability from infancy, and 2) applying infant and child learning strategies to mitigate cognitive decline during aging. Using infant learning to inform adult learning and vice versa has the greatest promise to lead to discoveries about optimal learning strategies that can be applied throughout the lifespan.
CURRENT STUDIES
- Investigating how learning new skills leads to increases in cognitive abilities and functional independence
Weiwei Zhang, Ph.D.
The human mind continuously develops over the course of life span. For instance, several core mental constructs and processes gradually improve in childhood and then declines after adulthood as a function of age. The research program in our lab focuses on understanding the cognitive and neural mechanisms supporting these mental abilities and their changes (such as blurry memories) with age, which can subsequently facilitate development of neurocognitive enhancement and intervention. Multiple Cognitive Neuroscience methods and approaches are used in our research, including behavioral, eye tracking, functional neuroimaging (EEG and MRI), non-invasive brain stimulation, computational modeling, neuropsychological, and translational research.
CURRENT STUDIES
- Blurred memories in aging brain
Halle Dimsdale-Zucker, Ph.D.
The Dimsdale-Zucker Memory and Context Lab is interested in studying human memory and the ways in which context (e.g., cognitive or mental context, temporal context, spatial context, and many others) influences what we remember and how our memories are represented by the brain. We are also interested in how these processes change across the lifespan into older adulthood. To tackle these questions, we use behavioral and computational approaches as well as brain imaging tools like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG).
CURRENT STUDIES
- How memory changes as we age