RABIN, LAURA A. Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Biography

Research

The fields of aging and dementia are focused on the characterization of the earliest stages of age-related cognitive impairment, when treatment that slows progression to dementia can exert the strongest impact. Recent research has identified a possible transitional state between the cognitive changes of normal aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD), known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI refers to the condition in which people experience clinically significant memory loss (or other cognitive impairment) yet do not meet criteria for dementia. When observed over time, MCI patients progress to AD at considerably higher rates than members of the general population. MCI is an area of intense interest for theoretical and practical reasons, and the focus of my research. I currently investigate the cognitive and neurophysiological changes associated with MCI and early AD using neuropsychological evaluation, genetic testing, and structural and functional imaging techniques. These assessment methods enable the characterization of longitudinal change patterns and the identification of baseline predictors of disease trajectory relevant to clinical outcome in these patient groups.

I also study another identified group of older adults who present with significant cognitive complaints (CC) but manifest no objective neuropsychological impairment. Recent imaging studies have revealed brain activity patterns and medial temporal structural degeneration in CCs intermediate between those of MCI patients and healthy controls. These individuals may therefore represent an even earlier stage of risk for eventual dementia. I study the CC group along with MCI and AD patients to better ascertain the combination of factors that predict progression to dementia. My research also focuses on the development and refinement of neuropsychological instruments that effectively distinguish categories along the continuum from normal aging though varying degrees of cognitive impairment. For example, I developed an objective test of judgment skills for use with older adults, and I am applying neuroimaging techniques to explore the neural basis for impaired judgment. A related interest is the investigation of ways to enhance cognition in older adults through problem-targeted cognitive training programs.

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Selected Publications

Rabin, L.A., Saykin, A.J., Wishart, H.A., et al. (2007). The Memory and Aging Telephone Screen (MATS): Development and preliminary validation. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 3, 109 - 121.

Rabin, L., Tanapat, P., & Relkin, N. (2007). Cholinergic components of frontal lobe function and dysfunction. Handbook of Clinical Neurology, vol 88 (3rd Series): Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neurology (pp. 10 - 41). London: Elsevier.

Rabin, L.A., Burton, L.A., & Barr, W.B. (2007). Utilization rates of ecologically oriented instruments among clinical neuropsychologists. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 21, 727 - 743.

Rabin, L.A., Borgos, M.J., Saykin, A.J., et al. (2007). Judgment in older adults: Development and psychometric evaluation of the Test of Practical Judgment (TOP-J). Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 29, 752 - 767.

McHugh, T.L., Saykin, A.J., Wishart, H.A., Flashman, L.A., Cleavinger, H.B., Rabin, L.A., et al. (2007). Hippocampal volume and shape analysis in an older adult population. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 21, 130 - 145

Rabin, L.A., Barr, W.B., & Burton, L.A. (2007). Effect of patient occupation/education variables on the choice of neuropsychological assessment instruments. Applied Neuropsychology, 14, 247 - 254.

Wishart, H.A., Saykin, A.J., Rabin, L.A., et al. (2006). Increased prefrontal activation during working memory in cognitively intact APOE 4 carriers. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 163.

Saykin, A.J., Wishart, H.A., Rabin, L.A., et al. (2006). Reduction of medial temporal gray matter density in older adults with amnestic MCI or cognitive complaints: A voxel-based morphometry study. Neurology, 67. 834 - 842.

Wang, P., Saykin, A.J., Flashman, L.A., Wishart, H.A., Rabin, L.A., et al. (2006). Regionally specific atrophy of the corpus callosum in AD, MCI, and older adults with cognitive complaints. Neurobiology of Aging, 27, 1613 - 1617

Copenhaver, B.R., Rabin, L.A., Saykin, A.J., et al. (2006). The fornix and mammillary bodies in older adults with AD, MCI, and Cognitive complaints: A volumetric MRI study. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 147. 93 - 103.

Rabin, L.A., Wishart, H.A., Fields, R.B., & Saykin, A.J. (2006). The dementias. In P. J. Snyder, P. D. Nussbaum, & D. L. Robins (Eds.), Clinical Neuropsychology: A Pocket Handbook for Assessment (2nd ed., pp. 210-239). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Wishart, H.A., Saykin, A.J., McAllister, T.W., Rabin, L.A., et al. (2006). Regional brain atrophy in cognitively intact adults with a single APOE E4 allele. Neurology, 67, 1221 - 1224.

Rabin, L.A., Roth, R.M., Isquith, P.K., et al. (2006). Self-and informant reports of executive function on the BRIEF-A in MCI and older adults with cognitive complaints. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 21, 721-732.

Rabin, L.A., Barr, W.B., & Burton, L.A. (2005). Assessment practices of clinical neuropsychologists in the United States and Canada: A survey of INS, NAN, and APA Division 40 members. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 20, 33-65.

Burton, L., Rabin, L., Wyatt, G., et al. (2005). Priming effects for affective vs. neutral faces. Brain and Cognition, 59, 322-329.

CLASSES TAUGHT

Undergraduate:
o Psychology Statistics (40.1)
o Abnormal Psychology (30)
o The Counseling Process (32.2)
o Fieldwork Experience in Psychopathology (33.1)
o Independent Fieldwork in Psychopathology (87.1)
o Independent Research (83.1)

Graduate:
o Psychology Assessment Techniques (788.21)
o Cognitive and Behavioral Approaches to Counseling and Psychotherapy (754.30)
o Proseminar in Psychology (801.03)