577-2297
nraz@wayne.edu
226 Knapp
Dr. Raz completed his undergraduate studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, . He was trained in psychology and human neuroscience at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Raz's research focuses on the neural correlates and modifiers of cognitive aging. His research has been supported since 1992 by the National Institute on Aging.

Research Focus

The main themes in the current studies in Dr. Raz's lab are:

• Differential aging of brain structure. Specifically, we study regional differences in the rates of shrinkage in brain volumes across multiple brain regions and structures (e.g., prefrontal, inferior parietal, pericalcarine cortices, basal ganglia, and cerebellum). The results of our previous studies (cross sectional comparisons and longitudinal follow-up) indicate that not all brain components age at the same rate. Association cortices, the caudate nucleus, the hippocampus and the cerebellum show steeper declines than the visual cortex, the entorhinal cortex and the pons.
• Cognitive consequences of structural brain aging. Although structural changes may be separated by cognitive declines by a long time period, some links between smaller regional volumes or faster longitudinal declines of brain regions and poorer performance on cognitive tasks have been noted. For example, we found that smaller prefrontal volumes are associated with greater difficulty to abandon previously reinforced but currently maladaptive cognitive strategy (Raz et al., 1998; Gunning-Dixon & Raz, 2003). Smaller putamen and cerebellar hemispheres are linked to poorer performance on perceptual-motor task (Raz et al., 2000), and the rate of shrinkage in usually stable entorhinal cortex is associated with reduced memory performance (Rodrigue & Raz, in press).

• Modifiers of brain aging:
  • Negative modifiers
    Hypertension, even when treated and reasonably well controlled, may still exert negative influence on the brain. We observed, however, that those negative effects are limited to the executive functions and the regions of their brain substrate - the anterior part of the frontal lobes (Raz et al, 2003). Sometimes, removal of mildly hypertensive subjects from a sample reduces age-related differences. We are currently attempting to replicate these findings and to examine possible mediators of the effects of mild hypertension on brain and cognition.
  • Positive modifiers
    Exercise is known to alleviate some of the effects of cardiovascular risk factors on many organs and systems, including the brain. We collaborate on a study of the effects of exercise and fitness on the aging of brain and cognition conducted at the University of Illinois Beckman Institute at the laboratory of Dr. Arthur Kramer. The preliminary results of this study are intriguing. It appears that increase in aerobic fitness is associated with reduced age-related differences in the regions of the brain that are known for their vulnerability to aging.
    
  • Genetic modifiers

  Individual differences in cognition can be traced to multiple genetic variations. Those variations, frequently stemming from an alteration of one amino acid at a specific position (single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs) may predispose individuals to slower or faster declines. Several SNPs that may affect brain and cognitive aging have been identified and we are testing the hypotheses regarding their effects on aging. For example, we found that in accord with previous reports carriers of Met allele in BDNF Val66Met polymorphism perform worse then Val homozygotes on association memory tests (Raz et al, submitted).. Met allele also negatively affects such age-sensitive function as speed of processing and the effect is exacerbated by hypertension. COMT Val158Met polymorphisms was found to affect executive functions, and in our sample, Met allele homozygotes performed better than Val allele carriers on several executive tests as well as more complex tests of fluid abilities. Selective executive functions are also affected by epsilon4 allele of ApoE polymorphisms known to increase the risk for Alzheimer’s disease. We are currently examining the effects of polymorphisms associated with vascular risk and inflammatory processes as candidates for explaining age-related differences in brain and cognition.  
  

Courses Taught

Undergraduate

    Physiological Psychology

Graduate

Neuropathology and Behavior PSY7340

Cognitive Neuroscience

Functional Neuroanatomy PSY8060

Training Offered

In the Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging Laboratory, graduate students acquire a wide range of research skills. Their training includes computer-aided processing and analysis of MRI images, design and administration of cognitive and neuropsychological tests and statistical analysis. Our neuroimaging projects are conducted at the Wayne State University MRI Center in collaboration with E. Mark Haacke, Ph.D.

Current graduate students in the lab:

• Cheryl Dahle - Email: ak0174@wayne.edu
• Awanti Deshmukh - Email: ap7162@wayne.edu
  
• Andrew Bender - Email: aw4734@wayne.edu
• Yiquin Yang  aw5311@wayne.edu
• Peng Yuan du3788@wayne.edu
  

Alumni of the CNA Lab

• Ivan J. Torres, Ph.D. 1993. Associate Professor, LT Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada http://www.psyc.sfu.ca/people/faculty.php?topic=finf&id=45
• Allen E. Thornton, Ph.D. 1995. Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada aethornt@sfu.ca web page:http://www.sfu.ca/psyc/faculty/thorntona/
• Wendy Loken-Thorton, Ph.D. 1995. Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada wthornto@sfu.ca web: http://www.psyc.sfu.ca/people/faculty.php?topic=finf&id=65
• Faith Gunning-Dixon, Ph.D. 2000. Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Cornell University Weill Medical College fgd2002@med.cornell.edu web: http://www.med.cornell.edu/research/fgdixon/index.html
• Denise Head, Ph.D. 2001. Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Washington University.dhead@artsci.wustl.edu web: http://hrl.wustl.edu/labmembers/current.html
• Karen Rodrigue - 2007 Post-Doctoral Fellow, Wayne State University krodrigue@wayne.edu
• Kristen Kennedy - 2007 Post-Doctoral Fellow, Wayne State University  kristen.kennedy@wayne.edu

CV

nraz_vita.pdf

Research Project Title

Neural Corelates and Modifiers of Cognitive Aging

Grants

• National Institute on Aging, grant 2R37AG011230 Neural Correlates and Modifiers of Cognitive Aging. Funding period: 7/1/05-6/30/10, direct costs: $2,090,389, a MERIT award.
  
• National Institute on Aging, grant R03-AG024630 Hemodynamic predictors of brain and cognitive aging. $117,000 direct costs, funding period September 15, 2004 - June 30, 2006

Professional Associations

American Association for Advancement of Science
Cognitive Neuroscience Society
Memory Disorders Research Society
Psychonomic Society
Society for Neuroscience

Publications

 

Raz, N., Rodrigue, K. M. , & Haacke, E.M.  (2007). Brain aging and its modifiers: Insights from in vivo neuromorphometry and Susceptibility Weighted Imaging. Annals of New York Academy of Science, 1097, 84-93.

Raz, N., Rodrigue, K.M., Kennedy, K.M., & Acker, J.D. (2007). Vascular health and longitudinal changes in brain and cognition in middle-aged and older adults. Neuropsychology, 21, 149-157.

Kennedy, K.M., Partridge, T., & Raz, N. (2007). Age-related differences in acquisition of perceptual-motor skills: Working memory as a mediator. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, in press.

Raz, N., Lindenberger, U., Ghisletta, P., Rodrigue, K.M., Kennedy, K.M., & Acker, J.D. (2007). Neuroanatomical correlates of fluid intelligence in healthy adults and persons with vascular risk factors. Cerebral Cortex, 2007 Jul 5; [Epub ahead of print]

Raz, N, (2007). Which side of plasticity? A comment on Greenwood. Neuropsychology, 21, 676-677.

Kennedy, KM, Erickson, KI, Rodrigue, KM, Voss, MW, Colcombe, SJ, Kramer, AF, Acker, JD, & Raz, N. Age-related differences in regional brain volumes: A Comparison of manual volumetry with optimized Voxel-Based Morphometry, Neurobiology of Aging, in press.

Kennedy, K.M., Hope, K., & Raz, N. Lifespan adult faces: Norms for age, familiarity, memorability, mood, and picture quality. Experimental Aging Research, in press

Thornton, W.J.L & Raz, N. (2006). Aging and the role of working memory resources in visuospatial attention. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 13, 36–61.

Moffat SD, Kennedy KM, Rodrigue KM, Raz N. (2006). Extrahippocampal contributions to Age Differences in Human Spatial Navigation. Cerebral Cortex, Jul 20; [Epub ahead of print]

Raz N, Rodrigue KM (2006). Differential aging of the brain: Patterns, cognitive correlates and modifiers. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 30:730-748. Epub 2006 Aug 17.

Kennedy, K. M., Rodrigue, K. M., & Raz, N. (2006). Fragmented pictures revisited: Long-term changes in repetition priming, relation to skill learning, and the role of cognitive resources. Gerontology, 53, 148-158.

Erickson, KI, Colcombe, SJ, Raz, N., Korol, DL., Scalf, P., Webb, A., Cohen, NJ, McAuley, E., Kramer, AF., (2005). Selective sparing of brain tissue in postmenopausal women receiving hormone replacement therapy. Neurobiology of Aging, 26, 1205-1213.

Kennedy, KM, & Raz, N. (2005). Age, sex, and regional brain volumes predict perceptual-motor skill acquisition. Cortex, 41, 560-569.

Raz, N., Lindenberger, U., Rodrigue, K.M., Kennedy, K.M., Head, D. Williamson, A., Dahle, C., Gerstorf, D., & Acker, J.D. (2005). Regional brain changes in aging healthy adults: General trends, individual differences, and modifiers. Cerebral Cortex, 15, 1676-1689.

Rodrigue, K.M., Kennedy, KM, & Raz., N. (2005). Aging and longitudinal change in perceptual-motor skill acquisition in healthy adults. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences,60B, P174-181.

Raz, N., Rodrigue, KM, Kennedy, KM, & Acker, J.D. (2004). Hormone replacement therapy and age-related brain shrinkage: regional effects.

Raz, N., Gunning-Dixon, F., Head, D., Rodrigue, K., Williamson, A., Acker, J. (2004). Aging, sexual dimorphism, and hemispheric asymmetry of the cerebral cortex: Replicability of regional differences in volume. Neurobiology of Aging, 25,377-396.

Rodrigue, K. & Raz, N. (2004). Shrinkage of the entorhinal cortex over five year predicts memory performance in healthy adults. Journal of Neuroscience, 24, 956-963

Raz, N., Rodrigue, K., Head, D., Kennedy, K, Acker, J. (2004). Differential aging of the medial temporal lobe: A Study of a five-year change.

Raz, N., Rodrigue, K., Acker, J. (2003). Hypertension and the brain: Vulnerability of the prefrontal regions and executive functions. Behavioral Neuroscience, 17, 1169-1180.

Raz, N., Rodrigue, K., Kennedy, K., Head, D., Gunning-Dixon, F., Acker, J. (2003). Differential aging of the human straitum: Longitudinal evidence. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 24, 1849-1859.

Gunning-Dixon, F., & Raz, N. (2003). Neuroanatomical correlates of selected executive functions in middle-aged and older adults: A prospective MRI study. Neuropsychologia, 41,1929-1941.

Korman, M., Raz, N., Flash, T., & Karni, A. (2003). Multiple shifts in the representation of a motor sequence during the acquisition of skilled performance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA, 100, 12492-12497.

Raz, N., Rodrigue, K., Kennedy, K., Dahle, C., Head, D., Acker, J. (2003). Differential age-related changes in the regional metencephalic volumes in humans: A five-year follow-up. Neuroscience Letters, 349, 163-166.

Colcombe S, Erickson KI, Raz, N., Webb AG, Cohen NJ, McAuley E, et al. (2003). Aerobic fitness reduces brain tissue loss in aging humans.

Head, D.,

NeuroReport, 15, 2531-2534. Neurology, 62, 433-439. Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 58A, 176-180.Raz, N., Gunning-Dixon, F., Williamson, A., & Acker, J.D. (2002). Age-related shrinkage of the prefrontal cortex is associated with executive, but not procedural aspects of cognitive performance. Psychology and Aging, 17, 72-84

Raz N. , Gunning-Dixon F., Head D., Williamson A., Acker J.D. (2001) Age and sex differences in the cerebellum and the ventral pons: a prospective MR study of healthy adults. AJNR Am J Neuroradiology, Jun;22(6):1161-1167

Thornton , A.E., Raz, N., & Tucker, K.A. (2001). Memory in multiple sclerosis: Contextual encoding deficits. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, in press.

Gunning-Dixon, F.M., & Raz, N. (2000). The cognitive correlates of white matter abnormalities in normal aging: A quantitative review.

Briggs, S.D. , Neuropsychology, 14, 224-232. Raz, N., & Marks, W. (1999).Age-related deficits in generation and manipulation of mental images: I. The role of sensorimotor speed and working memory. Psychology and Aging, 14,427-435.

Raz, N., Briggs, S.D. , Marks, W., & Acker, J.D. (1999).Age-related deficits in generation and manipulation of mental images: II. The role of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Psychology and Aging, 14, 436-445.

Raz, N., Williamson, A., Gunning-Dixon, F., Head, D., & Acker, J.D. (2000). Neuroanatomical and cognitive correlates of adult age differences in acquisition of a perceptual-motor skill. Microscopy Research and Technique, a special issue on Neuroimaging and Memory, 51, 85-93.

Gunning-Dixon, F.M., Head, D.P., McQuain, J.M., Acker, J.D., & Raz, N.(1998). Differential aging of the human striatum: A prospective MR study.

American Journal of Neuroradiology, 19, 1501-1507. Raz, N., Dixon , F.M., Head, D. P., Dupuis, J.H., & Acker, J.D. (1998). Neuroanatomical correlates of cognitive aging: Evidence from structural MRI. Neuropsychology, 12, 95-106.

Raz, N., Dupuis, J.H., Briggs, S.D. , McGavran, C., & Acker, J.D. (1998). Differential effects of age and sex on the cerebellar hemispheres and the vermis: A prospective MR study. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 19, 65-71.

Thornton, A.E. & Raz, N. (1997). Memory in multiple sclerosis: A quantitative review. Neuropsychology, 11, 357-366.

Moberg, P.A. & Raz, N.(1997).Aging and olfactory recognition memory: Effect of encoding strategies and cognitive abilities. International Journal of Neuroscience, 90, 277-292.

Raz, N., Gunning, F.M., Head, D., Dupuis, J.H., McQuain, J.M., Briggs, S.D., Thornton, A.E., Loken, W.J. & Acker, J.D. (1997). Selective aging of human cerebral cortex observed in vivo: Differential vulnerability of the prefrontal gray matter. Cerebral Cortex, 7, 268-282.


Books and Book Chapters

Raz, N. (2004). The aging brain observed in vivo: Differential changes and their modifiers. Chapter to appear in R. Cabeza, L. Nyberg, & D. C. Park (Eds.), Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging: Linking Cognitive and Cerebral Aging. New York: Oxford University Press.

Raz, N. (2004). The aging brain: Structural changes and their implications for cognitive aging. In Dixon , R. & Nilsson, L.G. (Eds.) New Frontiers in Cognitive Aging. New York: Ox Oxford University Press.

Raz, N. (Ed.) (1998). The Other Side of the Error Term: Aging and Development as Model Systems In Cognitive Neuroscience. Advances in Psychology series, v. 125. Amsterdam, The : Elsevier Science.

Raz, N. (2001). Cognitive aging. In: V. S. Ramachandran (Ed.) The Encyclopedia of the Human Brain. San Diego, CA : Academic Press

Raz, N. (2001). Ageing and the brain. In Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. London, : Macmillan Reference Ltd.

Raz, N. (2000). Aging of the brain and its impact on cognitive performance: Integration of structural and functional findings. In: F.I.M. Craik and T.A. Salthouse (Eds.) Handbook of Aging and Cognition - II. (Pp. 1-90). Mahwah, NJ : Erlbaum.

Raz, N. (1996). Neuroanatomy of aging brain: Evidence from structural MRI. In: Bigler, E.D. (ed.) Neuroimaging II: Clinical Applications, New York : Academic Press (pp.153-182).

Raz, N. (1994). Psychophysical measures of intelligence. In: Sternberg, R.J. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Intelligence. New York : Macmillan.

Presentations

Rodrigue, KM.. Kennedy, KM, Head, D., Williamson, A. and Raz, N. Aging and long-term retention of a cognitive skill. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, April 2005, New York, NY.

Head, D., Gunning-Dixon, F., Williamson, A., Acker, JD., and Raz , N.  Neuroanatomical and cognitive correlates of age-related differences in mirror-reading skill acquisition. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, April 2005, New York, NY.

Kennedy, KM, Rodrigue, KM, and Raz, N. Age-related perceptual priming, but not perceptual learning is associated with visual cortex volume in healthy adults. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, April 2005, New York, NY.

Raz, N. Differential Aging of the brain: Patterns, cognitive correlates and modifiers. Presented at the conference on the Future of Cognitive Aging, May 20, 2005, State College, PA.

Raz, N., Rodrigue, K.M., Kennedy, K.M., Acker, J.D. Aging brain, health and fluid reasoning: A longitudinal study. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, November 13, 2005, Washington, DC.

Raz, N., Rodrigue, K.M. Kennedy, K.M., & Acker, J.D. The effects of age and vascular health on brain and cognition: a longitudinal study. Presented at the Workshop on Sensory and Cognitive Impairments in Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Segovia, Spain, December, 18-20, 2005

Rodrigue, KM, Kennedy K.M., Haacke, E. M., Raz, N. Differential effects of age and hypertension on hemodynamic parameters of the brain. Presented at Cognitive Aging Conference, Atlanta, GA April 23, 2006.

Raz, N., Lindenberger, U, Ghisletta, P., Rodrigue, K. M, Kennedy, KM, & Acker, JD. Regional changes in the aging brain and their implications for cognition. Presented at Cognitive Aging Conference, Atlanta, GA April 23, 2006.

Moffat, S.D., Kennedy, K.M., Rodrigue, K.M. and Raz, N. Age-differences in human spatial navigation: extra-hippocampal contributions. Presented at Cognitive Aging Conference, Atlanta, GA April 23, 2006.

Raz, N. Brain Aging and its Modifiers: Insights from in vivo Neuromorphometry. Presented at the New York Academy of Science – American Federation for Aging Research Symposium, New York, NY May 17, 2006

Rodrigue, K.M., Kennedy, K.M., Haacke, E.M., and Raz, N. Differential effects of age and hypertension on hemodynamic parameters of the brain. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brian Mapping at Florence, Italy, June 11, 2006

Raz, N., Lindenberger, U., Ghisletta, P., Rodrigue, K.M., Kennedy, K.M., Acker, J.D., Regional Changes in the Aging Brain, Vascular Health, and Implications for Cognition.  Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brian Mapping at Florence, Italy, June 11, 2006.

Kennedy, K.M., Erickson, K.I., Rodrigue, K.M., Webb, M. Colcombe, SJ., Kramer, A.F., Raz, N. Age-Related Differences in Regional Brain Volumes: A Comparison of Manual Volumetry and Voxel Based Morphometry. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brian Mapping at Florence, Italy, June 13, 2006.

Raz, N. Aging of the Brain: Neurobiology and Imaging. Plenary talk, presented at the Alzheimer’s Imaging Consortium Annual Meeting, Madrid, Spain, July 15, 2006.

Kennedy, K.M, Erickson, K.I., Rodrigue, KM., Voss, M., Kramer, A.F., Raz, N. Age-Related Differences in Regional Brain Volumes: Manual Volumetry vs. Voxel-Based Morphometry. Presented at Cognitive Neuroscience Society annual meeting, New York, NY, May 6, 2007.

Raz, N. Structural changes and cognitive consequences: Studies of brain aging and its modifiers. Presented at the Longevity Consortium Symposium, Santa Fe, NM, May 17, 2007.

Raz, N. Differential Brain Aging and its Modifiers: Volumetric Findings. Presented at the Neuroradiology Education and Research (NER) Foundation Symposium 2007:  The Aging Brain, Annual Meeting of American Neuroradiological Society, Chicago, IL, June 9, 2007.

Raz, N., Rodrigue, K.M., Kennedy, K.M., Land, S. Selected single-nucleotide polymorphisms and cognitive performance: Differential associations. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA, November 7, 2007.

Kennedy, K.M, and Raz, N. Regional white matter integrity and cognitive performance: the effects of age and vascular risk factors. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA, November 4, 2007.

Rodrigue K. M. Haacke, E.M., & Raz N. Differential effects of age and hypertension on regional brain structure and function assessed by regional T2* relaxometry and volumetry. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA, November 7, 2007