NEUROPSYCHOLOGY COGNITION AND MOBILITY LAB
Research Training
Research Protocols
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Students are trained to administer structured telephone assessment and cognitive screens, clinical neuropsychological tests, mobility assessment (gait, balance, falls), and interviews and questionnaires evaluating psychological and functional status. Experimental protocols include using functional Near-Infrared-Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to assess changes in brain hemodynamic responses during active walking under conditions that manipulate attention and executive demands. Several ongoing studies in the lab also include Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain. Students in the lab work as a team and are fully engaged in all aspects of data collection, processing, and analysis.
*Clinical case conference procedures: Participants’ cognitive function and status are evaluated using established diagnostic clinical case conference procedures.
**While the availability of virtual platforms has influenced both clinical practice and research in psychology and other disciplines, ongoing studies in the lab require intensive in-person testing.
Predoctoral and Dissertation Projects
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Students work individually with Dr. Holtzer to develop predoctoral and dissertation research projects. Extensive data sets, collected in previous and current studies, are made available to support student-led projects. During the course of their tenure in the program and lab, students are also encouraged to pursue independent research projects. It is an explicit expectation that students submit work that is based on their projects to professional conferences and to peer-reviewed journals. Published peer-reviewed articles are considered the cornerstone of research, and as such emphasis is placed on mentoring students to develop the skill-set necessary to publish first-authored articles in the peer-reviewed literature. The majority of students graduate from the lab with multiple presentations in professional conferences and at least one first-authored journal article.
Clinical Research Externship
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Training in the lab includes supervised testing experience in neuropsychological assessment. The integration of clinical and research training in the lab is accomplished through a formal externship agreement approved by the program’s director of clinical training.