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Washington State University
College of Arts and Sciences Department of Psychology

John W. Wright

John W. Wright

Regents Professor

Ph.D. Michigan State University, 1971

Contact Information

Email: wrightjw@wsu.edu
Office: Johnson Tower 124
Phone: (509) 335-2329
(509) 592-6479

Classes Taught

  • Psychology 502: Research Design
  • Psychology 505: Teaching Psychology
  • Psychology 574: Physiological Psychology

Research Interests

  • Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Neurochemistry of Memory Consolidation
  • Parkinson’s Disease
  • Stroke related motor dysfunctions

Selected Publications

Wright, JW, Murphy ES, Wiediger RV, Murphy KL, Harding JW. (2013). Important roles for matrix metalloproteinases and cell adhesion molecules in LTP, habituation, and drug addiction. In Habituation: Theories, Characteristics and Biological Mechanisms. Nova Publishers, Hauppauge, NY. (in press)

Natarajan R, Wright JW, Harding JW. (2013). Matrix metalloproteinase activity is required for nicotine-induced conditioned place preference and context dependent relapse in adolescent female rats. Journal of Experimental Neuroscience, 7: 1-14.

Wright, J.W. and Harding, J.W. (2013). The development of multi-target-directed ligands (MTDL) to treat Alzheimer’s Disease. In Atta-ur-Rahman (Ed.), Frontiers in Clinical Drug Research – Alzheimer Disorders. Bentham Science Publishers, Vol. 1, pp. 1-18, e-book series. (Invited chapter).

Wright, J.W. and Harding, J.W. (2013). The brain renin-angiotensin system: A diversity of functions and implications for CNS diseases. Pflȕgers Archives – European Journal of Physiology, 465:133-151. (Invited review).

McCoy, A.T., Benoist, C.C., Kawas, L.H., Bule, J., Zhu, M., Appleyard, S.M., Wayman, G.A., Wright, J.W., and Harding, J.W. (2012). Evaluation of metabolically stabilized angiotensin IV analogs as pro-cognitive/anti-dementia agents. Journal of Pharmacological and Experimental Therapeutics, 344:141-154.

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Paul Whitney

adriana

Paul Whitney

Professor
Associate Vice President, International Programs

Ph.D. University of Kansas, 1984

Contact Information

Email: paul.whitney@wsu.edu
Office: Bryan Hall 301
Phone: (509) 335-2541

Research Interests

  • Memory, Affect, and Decision Making
  • Sleep Deprivation Effects on Cognition

I am engaged in collaborative research in cognition and cognitive neuroscience that focuses on the role of working memory and affective processing in executive function and decision making. Our investigations have included studies of how risky decision making is affected by situational factors, particularly sleep deprivation, that can temporarily alter the integration of hit emotional and cold cognitive information.

Dr. Whitney will be considering graduate student applications for Fall 2024 admission to the Experimental Psychology PhD Program.

Selected Publications

Jackson, M.L., Gunzelmann, G., Whitney, P., Hinson, J.M., Belenky, G., Rabat, A., & Van Dongen, H.P.A. (2012). Deconstructing and reconstructing cognitive performance in sleep deprivation. Sleep Medicine Reviews. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2012.06.007

Tucker, A.M., Whitney, P., Belenky, G., Hinson, J.M., & Van Dongen, H.P.A. (2010) Effects of sleep deprivation on dissociated components of executive functioning. Sleep, 33, 47-57.

Whitney, P., & Hinson J.M. (2010). Measurement of cognition in studies of sleep deprivation. In G.A. Kerkhof & H.P.A.Van Dongen (Eds.), Progress in Brain Research, 185, 37-48.

Whitney, P., Rinehart, C.A., & Hinson, J.M. (2008). Framing effects under cognitive load: The role of working memory in risky decisions. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15, 1179-1184.

 

Paul Whitney

Brendan M. Walker

Brendan M. Walker

Associate Professor

Ph.D. University of California at Santa Barbara, 2004

Contact Information

Email: b_walker@wsu.edu
Office: Johnson Tower 210 / VBR 215
Phone: (509) 335-8526
Website: Laboratory of Alcoholism and Addictions Neuroscience (LAAN)

Classes Taught

  • Psychology 198: Honors Introductory Psychology
  • Psychology 265: Biopsychological Effects of Alcohol and Other Drugs
  • Psychology 301: Seminar – “Catching the Big One – How Drugs of Abuse Keep You on the Hook”
  • Psychology 301: Seminar – “If Only We Could Forget – Targeting Reconsolidation for the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders”
  • Psychology 372: Physiological Psychology
  • Psychology 401: History of Psychology
  • University Honors 270: Principles and Research Methods in Social Sciences

Research Interests

  • Neurobiology of Motivational Systems
  • Excessive Self-Administration resulting from Alcohol and Drug Dependence
  • Chronic Alcohol and Drug-Induced Depression and Anxiety
  • Alcohol and Drug-Induced Alterations in Impulsivity
  • Plasticity Associated with Negative Reinforcement Mechanisms
  • Molecular and Genetic Determinants of Chronic Alcohol and Drug-related Altered Behavioral Regulation
  • Adolescent Exposure to Alcohol and Drugs of Abuse

My long-term research interest has been the neurobiology of motivational systems and how acute and long-term alcohol (and other drugs of abuse such as heroin) impact brain reward systems to promote increased drug seeking and consumption. Utilizing a combination of behavioral, anatomical, pharmacological, immunohistochemical, molecular and genetic approaches, we are currently evaluating the neuroadaptations produced by chronic ethanol and opioid exposure that promote enhanced intake of these abused compounds. This excessive intake is hypothesized to reflect the development of negative reinforcement (learning about the reinforcing (response increasing) nature of aversive stimulus removal that occurs when alcohol and drugs are consumed to relieve acute and protracted withdrawal symptoms) processes that compliment positive reinforcement processes governing non-dependent intake that developed earlier in life. Consequently, we are extremely interested in dependence-induced depression and anxiety because they appear to be lay the foundation for the observed increases in the negative reinforcing properties of abused substances. As an extension of this work, we also focus on the morphological and molecular mechanisms of plasticity associated with negative reinforcement learning. The lab is also investigating differences in impulsivity produced by chronic alcohol and drug exposure, as well as, animal models of adolescent alcohol and drug exposure that impact adult alcohol and drug intake. Once enough information is gathered about the nature of the brain’s response to chronic alcohol and drug exposure, that information can be used to help develop pharmacotherapies for the treatment of alcohol and drug addiction.

 

Selected Publications

Walker BM, Kissler JL (2013): Dissociable Effects of Kappa-Opioid Receptor Activation on Impulsive Phenotypes in Wistar Rats. Neuropsychopharmacology, doi: 10.1038/npp.2013.129.

Kissler JL, Sirohi S, Reis DJ, Jansen HT, Quock RM, Smith DG, Walker BM (2013). The One-Two Punch of Alcoholism: Role of Central Amygdala Dynorphins/Kappa-Opioid Receptors. Biological Psychiatry, doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.03.014.

Berger AL, Williams AM, McGinnis MM, Walker BM (2013). Affective Cue-Induced Escalation of Alcohol Self-Administration and Increased 22-kHz Ultrasonic Vocalizations during Alcohol Withdrawal: Role of Kappa-Opioid Receptors. Neuropsychopharmacology 38: 647-654.

Sirohi S, Bakalkin G and Walker BM (2012). Alcohol-induced plasticity in the dynorphin / kappa-opioid receptor system. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2012. 00095.

Williams AM, Reis DJ, Powell AS; Neira LJ, Nealey KA, Ziegler CE, Kloss N, Bilimoria JL, Smith CE and Walker BM (2012). The Effect of Intermittent Alcohol Vapor or Pulsatile Heroin on Somatic and Negative Affective Indices during Spontaneous Withdrawal in Wistar Rats. Psychopharmacology, 223, 1, 75-88.

Walker BM (2012). Conceptualizing Withdrawal-Induced Escalation of Alcohol Self-Administration as a Learned, Plasticity-Dependent Process. Alcohol, 46, 4, 339-348.

Walker BM, Valdez GR, McLaughlin JP and Bakalkin G (2012). Targeting dynorphin / kappa-opioid receptor systems to treat alcohol abuse and dependence. Alcohol, 46, 4, 359-370.

Smith AW, Nealey KA, Wright JW and Walker BM (2011). Plasticity associated with escalated operant ethanol self-administration during acute withdrawal in ethanol-dependent rats requires intact matrix metalloproteinase systems. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 96, 199-206.

Nealey KA, Smith AW, Davis SM, Smith DG and Walker BM (2011). K-opioid receptors are implicated in the increased potency of intra-accumbens nalmefene in ethanol-dependent rats. Neuropharmacology, 61, 35-42

Walker BM, Zorrilla EP, Koob GF (2011). Systemic K-opioid receptor antagonism by nor-binaltorphimine reduces dependence-induced excessive alcohol self-administration in rats. Addiction Biology, 16, 1, 116-119.

Walker JL, Walker BM, Fuentes FM, Rector DM (2011). Rat psychomotor vigilance task with fast response times using a conditioned lick behavior. Behavioural Brain Research, 216, 1, 229-237.

Walker BM, Drimmer DA, Walker JL, Liu T, Mathe AA, Ehlers CE (2010). Effects of prolonged ethanol vapor exposure on forced swim behavior, and neuropeptide Y and corticotropin releasing factor levels in rat brains. Alcohol, 44, 6, 487-493.

Brendan Walker

Hans Van Dongen

Hans Van Dongen

Director, Sleep and Performance Research Center
Professor, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine

Ph.D. Leiden University, The Netherlands, 1998

Contact Information

Email: hvd@wsu.edu
Office: Center for Clinical Research and Simulation 702, (Spokane Campus)
Phone: (509) 358-7755

More Information…

Classes Taught

  • Psychology 472: Neurobiology
  • Psychology 572: Psychology of Sleep

Research Interests

My research focuses on the effects of sleep and sleep deprivation on cognitive functions. I conduct experiments with human volunteers staying in the laboratory for multiple days (up to 2 weeks). This provides insight into the interactions of time awake versus time asleep (i.e., sleep homeostasis), circadian rhythms, and other regulatory mechanisms that affect fatigue and cognitive performance. My main interest is investigating how sleep deprivation affects the distinct underlying cognitive processes involved in task performance, and what can be learned from this about cognition and brain function. I am also interested in inter-individual differences in sleep and in the cognitive responses to sleep loss, having demonstrated that these inter-individual differences constitute physiological and neurobehavioral traits. In addition, I am engaged in mathematical and statistical modeling of the temporal changes in performance across time awake, and the application thereof in fatigue risk management systems in operational settings. Many students are actively involved in conducting the experiments and analyzing the data resulting from this research.

Selected Publications

Ratcliff, R., & Van Dongen, H.P.A. (2011). Diffusion model for one-choice reaction time tasks and the cognitive effects of sleep deprivation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108, 11285-11290.

Tucker, A.M., Whitney, P., Belenky, G., Hinson, J.M., & Van Dongen, H.P.A. (2010). Effects of sleep deprivation on dissociated components of executive functioning. Sleep, 33, 47-57.

McCauley, P., Kalachev, L.V., Smith, A.D., Belenky, G., Dinges, D.F., & Van Dongen, H.P.A. (2009). A new mathematical model for the homeostatic effects of sleep loss on neurobehavioral performance. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 256, 227-239.

Van Dongen, H.P.A., Baynard, M.D., Maislin, G., & Dinges, D.F. (2004). Systematic interindividual differences in neurobehavioral impairment from sleep loss: Evidence of trait-like differential vulnerability. Sleep, 27, 423-433.

Van Dongen, H.P.A., Maislin, G., Mullington, J.M., & Dinges, D.F. (2003). The cumulative cost of additional wakefulness: Dose-response effects on neurobehavioral functions and sleep physiology from chronic sleep restriction and total sleep deprivation. Sleep, 26, 117-126.

Hans Van Dongen

Sarah L. Tragesser

Sarah L. Tragesser

Associate Professor

Ph.D. Colorado State University, 2005

Contact Information

Email: sarah_tragesser@wsu.edu
Office: CIC 125, Tri-Cities Campus
Phone: (509) 372-7388

Classes Taught

  • Psychology 321: Introduction to Personality Psychology
  • Psychology 350: Social Psychology
  • Psychology 401: Historical Development of Psychology
  • Psychology 401: Motivation

Research Interests

  • Personality
  • Personality Disorders
  • Substance Use

Dr. Tragesser studies the associations between personality, personality disorders, and substance use. In particular, she focuses on Borderline Personality Disorder features of affective instability/negative affectivity and impulsivity, and how these relate to alcohol and prescription opioid abuse and dependence. Because Dr. Tragesser works from a dimensional perspective, her research includes the use of both community and college student samples, as well as the study of individuals in treatment for chronic pain or substance use disorders. Dr. Tragesser is also interested in other aspects of personality, including its role in interpersonal relationships and a range of impulsive behaviors.

Recent Publications

Tragesser, S. L., Jones, R., Robinson, R. J., Stutler, A., & Stewart, A. (2013) Borderline Personality Disorder features and risk for prescription opioid use disorders. Journal of Personality Disorders, 27(4), 427-441.

Tomko, R. S., Brown, W. C., Tragesser, S. L., Wood, P. K., Mehl, M. R., & Trull, T. J. (in press). Social context of anger in Borderline Personality Disorder and Depressive Disorders: Findings from a naturalistic observation study. Journal of Personality Disorders.

Tragesser, S. L., & Benfield, J. (2012). Borderline Personality Disorder features and mate retention tactics. Journal of Personality Disorders, 26(3), 334-344.

Jahng, S., Trull, T. J., Wood, P. K., Tragesser, S. L., Tomko, R., Grant, J. D., Bucholz, K. K., & Sher, K. J. (2011). Distinguishing general and specific personality disorder features and implications for substance dependence comorbidity. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 120(3), 656-669.

Tragesser, S. L., Bruns, D., & Disorbio, M. (2010). Borderline Personality Disorder features and pain: The mediating role of negative affect in a patient sample. The Clinical Journal of Pain, 26(4), 348-353. *Also abstracted in Pain Management News and Research, May 2010.

Tragesser, S. L., Beauvais, F., Jumper-Thurman, P., & Burnside, M. (2010). Differences in Illicit Drug Use Rates Among Oklahoma and Non-Oklahoma Indian Youth. Substance Use & Misuse, 45(13), 2323-2339.

Tragesser, S. L., Solhan, M., Brown, W. C., Tomko, R. L., Bagge, C., & Trull, T. J. (2010). Longitudinal associations in Borderline Personality Disorder Features: Diagnostic Inter- view for Borderlines- Revised (DIB-R) scores over time. Journal of Personality Disorders, 24(3), 377-391.

For more publications, please see Dr. Tragesser’s Vita.

Sarah Tragesser

Samantha Swindell

adriana

Samantha Swindell

Clinical Professor
Associate Dean for Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment

Ph.D. Washington State University, 1998

Contact Information

Email: sswindell@wsu.edu
Office: Johnson Tower 339
Phone: (509) 335-3715

Classes Taught

  • Psychology 312: Research Methods
  • Psychology 328: Self-Control
  • Psychology 470: Motivation
  • Psychology 491/591: Principles of Learning

Research Interests

I have a 20% faculty appointment in the Department of Psychology and an 80% administrative appointment as the Associate Dean for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment for the College of Arts and Sciences.  As a faculty member, I coordinate Psych 105: Introductory Psychology on the Pullman campus and routinely teach Psych 505: Teaching introductory Psychology, which psychology graduate students take prior to their appointments as primary instructors in Psych 105.

Selected Publications

Swindell, S., McSweeney, F. K., & Murphy, E. S. (2003). Dynamic Changes in the size of behavioral contrast. The Behavior Analyst Today, 4, 199-209.

McSweeney, F. K. & Swindell, S. (2002). Common processes may contribute to extinction and habituation. The Journal of General Psychology, 129, 364-400.

McSweeney, F. K. & Swindell, S. (2001). The glass ceiling is not fragile: A response to Odum (2000). The Behavior Analyst, 24, 87-93.

McSweeney, F. K., Donahoe, P., & Swindell, S. (2000). Women in applied behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 23, 267-277.

McSweeney, F. K. & Swindell, S. (1999). Behavioral economics and within-session changes in responding. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 72, 355-371.

Samantha Swindell

Paul S. Strand

Paul S. Strand

Professor

Ph.D. University of Tennessee, 1993

Contact Information

Email: pstrand@wsu.edu
Office: CIC 125S (Tri-Cities Campus)
Phone: (509) 372-7177
Website: Researchgate

Classes Taught

  • Abnormal Psychology
  • Clinical/Community Psychology
  • Principles of Development
  • Behavior disorders of childhood and adolescence
  • Behavioral decision theory
  • Undergraduate Practicum
  • Special topics: The Evolving Self
  • Special topics: ADHD and Conduct Disorders
  • Psychological Testing and Assessment

Research Interests

My research is concerned with the social skills development and school readiness of children and youth from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Also of concern to me are verbal processes that emerge in cultural context and guide behavior, such as emotion knowledge and social values. With respect to applications, we seek to investigate and identify assessment-intervention frameworks that improve outcomes for children in school settings.

Selected Publications

Strand, P. S. (2020). The security-seeking impulse and the unification of attachment and culture. Psychological Review, 127(5), 778-791. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/rev0000194

Strand, P. S. (2020). A deeper and distributed search for culture. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 43, E115, 50-51. doi:10.1017/S0140525X19002693

Strand, P.S., Vossen, J.J., & Savage, E. (2019). Culture and child attachment patterns: A behavioral systems synthesis. Perspectives on Behavior Science. DOI: 10.1007/s40614-019-00220-3 (online preprint).

Strand, P.S., Gotch, C., French, B.F., & Beaver, J. (2019). Factor structure and invariance of an adolescent risks and needs assessment. Assessment, 26, 1105-1116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191117706021

Strand, P.S., & Downs, A. (2018). The social values development of preschoolers: An investigation of the joint impact hypothesis. Developmental Psychology, 54(6), 1063-1071.

Iverson, A., French, B., Strand, P.S., & McCurley, C. (2018). Understanding school truancy: Risk-need latent profiles of adolescents. Assessment, 25, 978-987.

Beecher, C., Strand, P., & French, B.F. (2018). Investigation of the Development of Pre-Academic Skills for Preschoolers in Head Start. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 23, 230-249.

Downs, A. & Strand, P.S. (2018). A longitudinal study of social-emotional development in a multicultural preschool setting. SAGE Research Methods Cases.

Strand, P. S., Downs, A., & Barbosa-Leiker, C. (2016). Does facial expression recognition provide a toehold for the development of emotion understanding? Developmental Psychology, 52, 1182-1191.

Strand, P.S., Barbosa-Leiker, C., Piedra, M.A., & Downs, A. (2015). Exploring the bi-directionality of emotion understanding and preschooler classroom behavior: A latent variable analysis. Social Development, 24, 579-600.

Strand, P.S., Pula, K., & Downs, A. (2015). Social values and preschool behavioral adjustment: A comparative investigation of Latino and European American preschool children. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 21, 400-408.

Current Grant Funding

Refinement and Further Development of the Washington Assessment of Risk and Needs of Students. Institute for Education Sciences. PI: PS Strand, Co-PIs: BF French, C Gotch, M Poppen. ($1,408,482). July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2025.

Paul Strand

Elizabeth Soliday

Elizabeth Soliday

Associate Professor
Clinical Child/Pediatric Psychologist

Ph.D. University of Kansas

Contact Information

Email: esoliday@wsu.edu
Office: (Vancouver Campus)
Phone: (360) 546-9727

More Information…

Classes Taught

  • Psychology 230: Human Sexuality
  • Psychology 320: Health Psychology
  • Psychology 328: Self Control
  • Psychology 361: Principles of Developmental Psychology
  • Psychology 444: Helping Skills
  • Psychology 464: Behavior Disorders in Children and Adolescents

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Laurie J. Smith-Nelson

Laurie J. Smith-Nelson

Clinical Associate Professor

Ph.D. Washington State University, 1991

Contact Information

Email: smithlj@wsu.edu
Office: Johnson Tower 354
Phone: (509) 335-5547

Classes Taught

  • Psychology 230: Human Sexuality
  • Psychology 321: Introduction to Personality
  • Psychology 324: Psychology of Gender
  • Psychology 444: Basic Helping Skills

Areas of Interests

As a faculty member with a 100% teaching appointment, my time is primarily devoted to teaching and developing undergraduate courses. I also advise students in career paths in Psychology and occasionally act as an advisor for Honors College undergraduate thesis projects. I am the faculty advisor for the Psychology Club and a mentor for several student athletes.

Selected Publications

Gage, J. D., & Wilson (Smith), L. J. (2000). Acceptability of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder interventions: A comparison of parents. Journal of Attention Disorders,4, 174-182.

Wilson (Smith), L. J., & Nirschl, J. A. (1996). Parents’ acceptability of alternative treatments for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Attention Disorders.

Wilson, G. L., & Wilson, L. J. (1990). Treatment acceptability of alternative sex therapies: A comparative analysis. Journal of Sex and Martial Therapy,17, 282-286.

Wilson, G. L., Bornstein, P. H., & Wilson, L. J. (Smith) (1988). Treatment of marital dysfunction: An empirical evaluation of group and conjoint psychotherapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 234-241.

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Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe

adriana

Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe

Regents Professor

H. L. Eastlick Distinguished Professor

Ph.D. University of Memphis, 1994

Contact Information

Email: schmitter-e@wsu.edu
Office: Johnson Tower 312
Phone: (509) 335-0170

Websites

Vita

Electronic Memory and Management Aid or EMMA is a digital memory notebook and compensation application

Media Links

Classes Taught

  • Psychology 198: Honors Introductory Psychology
  • Psychology 363: Psychology and Aging
  • Psychology 490: Cognition and Aging
  • Psychology 485/486: Gerontechnology 1 and 2
  • Psychology 537: Clinic Assessment Practicum
  • Psychology 575: Foundation of Neuropsychology

Clinical and Cognitive Neuropsychology; Everyday Functioning; Memory and Executive Abilities; Rehabilitation; Smart and Assistive Technologies; Aging and Cognitively Impaired Populations (e.g., MCI, AD, PD and TBI).

Current Funded Grants

Creating Adaptive, Wearable Technologies to Assess and Intervene for Individuals with ADRDs.. National Institute of Aging. #R35 AG071451, 2021-2026. $4,590,000. PI.

Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Training Program in Health-assistive Smart Environments for Older Adults. National Institute on Aging. #R25 AG046114, 2021-2026, renewal. $1,837,165. PI.

Compensation Training and Lifestyle Modifications to promote Healthy Aging in Persons at Risk for Alzheimer’s disease: A Digital Application Supported Intervention National Institute on Aging. #R01 AGO66748, 2020-2025. $3,517,278. PI.

Multi-modal Assessment and Intervention for Functional Independence.  National Institute on Aging. #R01 AG065218, 2020-2025. $2,992,391. PI.

A Digital Memory Notebook to Support Everyday Functioning, Decrease Caregiver Burden and Track Health Status. Department of Defense. AZ190055; 2020-2023. $1,299,515. PI.

Native Alzheimer’s disease resource center for minority aging research (NAD-RCMAR). National Institute on Aging. #P30AG059295. 2018-2023. $2,832,425. Co-PI.

A clinician-in-the-loop smart technology to support health monitoring and intervention for chronic conditions. NIH: National Institute of Nursing Research. #R01 NINR016732, 2017-2022, $1,826,091. PI.

A clinician-in-the-loop smart home to support health monitoring and intervention for chronic conditions: Supplement to focus on Alzheimer’s and/or other dementias. NIH: National Institute of Nursing Research. #R01 NINR016732-supplement. 2020-2021. $372,222. PI.

Selected Recent Publications (see vita for full list):

*indicates graduate student

Schmitter-Edgecombe, M., *Brown, K., *Luna, C., *Chilton, R., *Sumida, C.A., Holder, L., & Cook, D. J. (2022). Partnering a compensatory application with activity-aware prompting to improve use in individuals with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: a randomized controlled pilot clinical trial. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 8, 73-90. 10.3233/JAD-215022. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-215022

*Boyd, B., *McAlister, C., *Arrotta, K., & Schmitter-Edgecombe, M. (2022). Self-reported behavior change and predictors of engagement with a multidomain brain health intervention for midlife and older adults: a pilot clinical trial. Journal of Aging and Health, 34(1), 109-119.  https://doi.org/10.1177/08982643211032483

Schmitter-Edgecombe, M., *McAlister, C., & Greeley, D. (2021). A Comparison of Functional Abilities in Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Parkinson’s Disease with Mild Cognitive Impairment Using Multiple Assessment Methods. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS, 1–12. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617721001077

*Sumida, C. A., Lopez, F. V., Van Etten, E. J., Whitley, N., Moore, R. C., Pirogovsky-Turk, E., Litvan, I., Lessig, S., Schmitter-Edgecombe, M., Gilbert, P. E., & Filoteo, J. V. & Schiehser, D. M. (2021). Medication management performance in Parkinson’s disease: examination of process errors. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33621315 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33621315/

Schmitter-Edgecombe, M., *Cunningham, R., *McAlister, C., *Arrotta, K. & *Weakley, A. (2021). The Night Out Task and scoring application: an ill-structured, open-ended clinic-based test representing cognitive capacities used in everyday situations. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 36(4), 537-553. PMID: 33089318. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33089318/

*Chudoba, L. A., & Schmitter-Edgecombe, M. (2020). Insight into memory and functional abilities in individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 42, 822-833. PMID: 32957853. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803395.2020.1817338

Schmitter-Edgecombe, M., *Sumida, C. A., & Cook. D. J. (2020). Bridging the gap between performance-based assessment and self-reported everyday functioning: an ecological momentary assessment approach. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 34, 678-699. PMID 32189568. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32189568/

*Brown, K. D., & Schmitter-Edgecombe, M. (2020). The impact of initial planning on task execution performance of older adults: a naturalistic assessment paradigm. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 42, 1-13. PMID: 31658865 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31658865/

Raghunath, N., *Dahmen, J., *Brown, K., Cook. D., Schmitter-Edgecombe, M. (2020). Creating a Digital Memory Notebook application for individuals with mild cognitive impairment to support everyday functioning. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 15, 421-431. PMID 30907223. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30907223/

*Chudoba, L., *Sawaqdeh, A., *Dahmen, J., *Brown, K., & Schmitter-Edgecombe, M. (2020). The development of a manual-based Digital Memory Notebook intervention with case illustrations. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 30, 1829-1851. PMID: 31046586 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31046586

Farias, S., Gravano, J., *Weakley, A., Schmitter-Edgecombe, M., Harvey, D., Mungas, D., Chan, M., & Giovannetti, T. (2020). The Everyday Compensation (EComp) questionnaire: construct validity and associations with diagnosis and longitudinal change in cognition and everyday function. Journal of the International Society of Neuropsychology, 26, 303-313. PMID: 31668159. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31668159

*Aminikhanghahi, S., Schmitter-Edgecombe, M., & Cook, D. (2020). Context-aware delivery of ecological momentary assessment. IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics, 24, 1206-1214. PMID: 314443058 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31443058

*Weakley, A., Weakley, A. T., & Schmitter-Edgecombe, M. (2019). Compensatory strategy use improved real-world functional performance in community dwelling older adults. Neuropsychology, 33, 1121-1135. PMID: 31448941 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31448941

*Fellows, R., & Schmitter-Edgecombe, M. (2019). Multi-method assessment of everyday functioning and memory abilities in Parkinson’s disease. Neuropsychology, 33,169-177. PMID: 30451512 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30451512

*Braley, R., Fritz, S., Van Son, C., & Schmitter-Edgecombe, M. (2019). Prompting Technology and Persons with Dementia: The Significance of Context and Communication. The Gerontologist.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gny071

In Press Book Chapters

Schmitter-Edgecombe, M. & Giovannetti, T. (forthcoming). Measures of activities of daily living. In G. J. Boyle, Y. Stern, D. J. Stein, & B. Sahakian (Ed.). Chapter 19. The SAGE handbook of clinical neuropsychology (Vol 2). United Kingdom: Sage Publications.

Schmitter-Edgecombe, M., Marcotte, T. D., & Grant, I. (forthcoming). Future Directions in the assessment of everyday functioning. Chapter 22. In T. D. Marcotte, M. Schmitter-Edgecombe & I. Grant (Ed.). Neuropsychology of Everyday Functioning (2nd Edition). New York: The Guilford Press.

Marcotte, T. D., Schmitter-Edgecombe, M., Scott, J. C., Kamut, R., & Heaton, R. K. (forthcoming). Neuropsychology and the prediction of everyday functioning. Chapter 1. In T. D. Marcotte, M. Schmitter-Edgecombe & I. Grant (Ed.). Neuropsychology of Everyday Functioning (2nd Edition). New York: The Guilford Press.

Schmitter-Edgecombe, M., & *Arrotta, K. (forthcoming). Naturalistic assessment: everyday environments and emerging technologies. Chapter 10. In T. D. Marcotte, M. Schmitter-Edgecombe & I. Grant (Ed.). Neuropsychology of Everyday Functioning (2nd Edition). New York: The Guilford Press.

Lab Info

Neuropsychology and Aging Laboratory

The goal of this research program is to develop cognitive interventions that will help older individuals with progressive neurological disorders (e.g., AD, PD) delay functional disability and increase their quality-of-life. Participants in many of our studies are healthy older adults and early-stage dementia patients who complete standardized neuropsychological tests and cognitive experimental tasks that assess different cognitive skills (e.g., memory, problem-solving). By observing individuals completing complex tasks of daily living in our on-campus smart home environment, we have identified the role that specific memory and executive functioning deficits play in the poorer performances of healthy older adults and individuals with MCI relative to younger adults on complex real-world everyday tasks. We are currently completing a series of studies that involve observing participants completing everyday tasks of daily living as they natural do in their own home and community environments. We are especially interested in learning more about how compensatory strategy use and the role of the environment can support or hinder a person’s ability to remain functionally independent. We expect this work to enhance our intervention work and to assist in creating more ecological valid laboratory-based assessment measures and questionnaires and we are currently evaluating such measures.

Smart Home Assessment and Intervention: We also have several large grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to support collaborative work with computer scientists and engineers. This work involves developing smart environments and portable technologies for health monitoring and assistance. We are conducting a 5-year longitudinal study of older adults performing daily activities in their own smart homes. By tracking residents’ daily behavior over a long period, we are working to develop intelligent software that can perform automated functional assessment and identify trends that are indicators of acute health changes (e.g., infection, injury) and slower progressive decline (e.g., dementia). We are also working to improve overall health and well-being of residents by delivering prompt-based interventions that support functional independence and promote healthy lifestyle behaviors (e.g., social contact, exercise, regular sleep). In addition, we are working to improve our paper-and pencil notebook by creating an Electronic Memory and Management Aid (EMMA) application and allowing for real-time intervention by developing a smart home / EMMA partnership. Such a partnership would facilitate continued use of EMMA to support functional independence through activity recognition and context-aware prompting, and would offer improved interfaces over the pen-and-paper versions.

Brain Health Intervention: Accumulating evidence suggests that healthy lifestyle factors, as well as compensatory strategy use, can help to minimize the effect of cognitive aging. We are piloting holistic brain health intervention being administered in a group format. Older adult participants are being presented with information about healthy lifestyle factors that can influence cognitive aging, including: exercise, nutrition, sleep hygiene, social engagement, stress management, compensatory strategies, assistive technologies, and cognitive engagement. We are also using wearable technologies to track cognition and fluctuating everyday factors (e.g., fatigue, mood, environment) using ecological momentary assessment. This work builds on a group problem-solving model that we have successfully used in prior work to help teach individuals with mild cognitive impairment and their care-partners to integrate new memory strategies into their everyday lives. Most recently, we have been working with researchers at UC Davis assessing the efficacy of a synergistic intervention for individuals with subjective cognitive complaints that combines brain health with compensatory strategy training and makes use of the EMMA application to support the intervention and collect real-time data.

Aging Assistive Technologies: Assistive technologies can increase functional outcome and promote safety as well as reduce caregiver burden and healthcare costs. Despite these positive benefits, there continues to be widespread underutilization of assistive technology in the aging population. One barrier contributing to underutilization is the widespread lack of knowledge about existing supportive technologies, the utility and value of the technologies, as well as how to acquire and use them. With a grant from the Attorney General’s Office of WA, we developed a series of eight videos that cover assistive technologies relevant to the following topics: daily living aids, medication management tools, memory aids, fall prevention devices, hearing devices, vision aids, communication tools and mobility devices. These videos can be found at: tech4aging.wsu.edu. We have recently pioneered new methods for coding information relevant to the quality of compensatory strategies being used by older adults to complete prospective memory tasks. We are currently working with a group from Chile to better understand intrinsic and extrinsic factors that may impact and older adults use of compensatory strategies and assistive technologies.

Donate to the Howard Hosick Student Research Fund Here

Howard Hosick was a professor of Zoology and Genetics at WSU for 34 years. Late in 2004 he began to have memory and administrative function difficulties, and finally in April of 2006 he was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s Disease. He was 62. During that time he found out about a class that was going to be held for people with memory issues and their spouses, given by Dr. Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe. As a result of this experience, Dr. Hosick was able to use a memory notebook for the next two or three years. Dr. Hosick’s wife, Cynthia, was his primary caregiver. Because of her experience, Dr. Schmitter-Edgecombe invited her to join class panels about memory issues and caregiving challenges, and to participate in some related research to find technology that could be helpful for a memory-impaired person. Dr. Hosick had some research funds remaining after his retirement. The personal help the Hosicks gratefully received from Maureen’s research, and the ensuing friendship between Dr. Schmitter-Edgecombe and Mrs. Hosick, led to the decision to donate the funds to be used for graduate student support in Maureen’s lab.

 

Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe for Showcase