Welcome to the HNRC

Dr. Maria Marquine named a 2021 Health Sciences Faculty Excellence in Mentoring award recipient

Congratulations to Dr. Maria Marquine who was named a 2021 Health Sciences Faculty Excellence in Mentoring award recipient!

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Dr. Mariana Cherner received funding for a NIDA K24 grant

Congratulations to Dr. Mariana Cherner for receiving a NIDA K24 grant. Mariana Cherner, PhD received a NIDA K24 grant titled, “Mentoring Clinical Researchers at the Intersection of NeuroHIV and Substance Abuse”.

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Raeanne Moore & colleagues found that Objective and subjective sleep measures are associated with neurocognition in aging adults with and without HIV

Raeanne C. Moore and colleagues published a paper on "Objective and subjective sleep measures are associated with neurocognition in aging adults with and without HIV".

Studies have shown that poor sleep is related to worse cognitive functioning (e.g., memory, attention) in older adults and persons with HIV. However, the relationship between sleep and cognitive functioning has not been well studied in older people with HIV. In this study we examined how sleep relates to cognitive functioning in people aged 50 and older with and without HIV. We gave 84 participants paper and pencil cognitive tests to measure cognitive functioning. To measure sleep, we gave participants watches (similar to a Fitbit watch) to measure their sleep at home for 14 days. We also had participants rate their own sleep quality using a questionnaire.

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Raeanne Moore & colleagues found that individuals who engaged in cognitively stimulating activities scored better on cognitive performance tests than those who engaged in passive, less mentally taxing pursuits.

Raeanne C. Moore and colleagues published a paper on "Daily Activities Related to Mobile Cognitive Performance in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: An Ecological Momentary Cognitive Assessment Study".

Working, reading and other cognitively stimulating activities are related to better cognitive functioning. Conversely, studies have found that passive activities such as watching television are related to worse cognitive functioning. One problem with the current research on understanding the relationships between daily activities and cognitive functioning is that cognitive testing is usually done on a single day in a lab, which may not reflect real world cognitive performance. In this study, we used smartphones to test participants’ cognitive functions multiple times a day immediately after different types of activity (i.e., at different times during the day, participants’ smartphones would survey what they were doing and then ask them to complete a short cognition test.). The cognitive abilities we tested were executive functioning and learning.

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