Washington University in St. Louis
Graduate Student, Psychology
Graduate Student
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Dr. Denise Head
|
About
The overarching theme of my research is to examine the complex relationships between age-related changes in the brain and cognition. To this end, I concentrate on three specific domains related to cognitive and brain aging. The first domain focuses on the heritability of brain structure and function in older adults in order to elucidate the degree to which genetic control over regional brain structure and functional brain networks is preserved in late life. The second domain focuses on the negative consequences of lifetime experiences of stress and activation of the stress response on brain structure and memory performance, as well as personality and social factors that may mitigate those consequences. The final domain focuses on the mechanisms by which age-related changes in the structural and functional integrity of brain regions and networks supporting spatial navigation give rise to navigational difficulties consistently observed in aging research. I am particularly interested in the interactions of acute and chronic stress with declines in brain structure to exacerbate navigational deficits in older adults.
Contact Information
| Address: | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Telephone: |
(314) 935.7596 |
