Behavioral and Social Sciences
Emily Willroth, PhD (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor
Psychological & Brain Sciences
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Patrick Hill, PhD (he/him/his)
Associate Professor
Psychological and Brain Sciences
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Tomiko Yoneda, PhD (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
University of California, Davis
Davis, California, United States
Nicole Stuart, MA (she/her/hers)
PhD Student
Psychology
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Julia Sheffler, PhD (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor
Center for Translational Behavioral Science
Florida State University College of Medicine
Tallahassee, Florida, United States
This symposium will highlight the role of psychosocial and lifestyle factors in cognitive health. Across four talks, we consider a wide range of psychosocial and lifestyle factors including personality, stress, physical activity, and nutrition, and a wide range of cognitive health outcomes including subjective and objective cognitive performance, clinical diagnoses of cognitive status, and cognitive healthspan. First, Dr. Patrick Hill will share findings on links between Big Five personality traits and the degree of concordance between subjective and objective cognitive functioning. Second, Dr. Tomiko Yoneda uses longitudinal data to investigate personality trait predictors of transitions between cognitive states (no cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment, dementia) and death, as well as personality effects on cognitive healthspan (i.e., years without cognitive impairment) and total longevity. Third, Nicole Stuart used ecological momentary assessment and activity trackers to investigate links among daily stress, daily physical activity, and daily cognitive performance. Finally, Dr. Julia Sheffler will discuss how we can apply our knowledge of psychosocial and lifestyle factors in cognitive health to inform the development of interventions. She will share quantitative and qualitative findings from proof-of-concept (N=9) and pilot (N=58) studies of a nutrition intervention in older adults at risk for dementia, and she will discuss implications for lifestyle intervention development more broadly. Together, this symposium showcases how a wide range of methods can be employed to reveal the importance of psychosocial and lifestyle factors for promoting healthy cognitive aging.
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Patrick L. Hill, PhD (he/him/his) – Washington University in St. Louis
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Tomiko Yoneda, PhD (she/her/hers) – University of California, Davis
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Nicole S. Stuart, MA (she/her/hers) – University of British Columbia
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Julia L. Sheffler, PhD (she/her/hers) – Florida State University College of Medicine