CLSOCPY007 - The Psychology of Aging
Dr. Stephanie Leal and researchers from Rice University’s Neuroscience of Memory, Mood and Aging Lab share the latest scientific insights on the psychology of aging. What accounts for the wide range of differences in how people age? Enhance your understanding of how aging can affect our bodies, minds and social relationships. Become acquainted with fundamentals of the psychology and neuroscience of aging. Explore how mental capacities may change over time and learn to distinguish between “normal” and “abnormal” aging processes. Learn how scientists are harnessing state-of-the-art high-resolution imaging techniques, PET imaging and novel experimental paradigms to understand brain-behavior relationships and examine how systems can go awry in memory and mood disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and depression. Harnessing current and emerging research, we consider what it means to thrive as we age and how to enhance well-being into the latest years of life.
Course Details
Stephanie Leal, Ph.D., is a cognitive neuroscientist, an assistant professor of psychological sciences at Rice University, director of the Neuroscience of Memory, Mood and Aging Lab at Rice University, and an adjunct assistant professor of neurology at Houston Methodist Research Institute. Her research is focused on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying memory processing and how these mechanisms are modulated by emotion and aging. She is leading a new study focused on improving early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Leal’s lab utilizes a combination of sensitive cognitive measures, high-resolution functional imaging techniques, PET imaging and translational applications of these approaches to populations with cognitive impairment (aging, preclinical Alzheimer’s disease, depression and late-life depression). Dr. Leal holds a doctorate and a master’s degree in psychological and brain sciences from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in biopsychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
On Campus
This course will be delivered on campus / in person. Parking and room information will be sent prior to the class start date.
- Introduction to the psychology of aging
- Memory and emotion across the life span
- Alzheimer’s disease and risk factors
- Lifestyle factors and aging
- Mental health in aging
- Aging and thriving: Integrating and applying insights on aging
Neuroscience of Memory, Mood and Aging Lab and Department of Psychological Sciences, Rice University