Penn State Penn State: College of the Liberal Arts
CANLAB Cognitive Aging andNeuroimaging Lab

Welcome to the Cognitive Aging & Neuroimaging Lab!

The Cognitive Aging & Neuroimaging (CAN) Lab, in the Department of Psychology at Penn State, examines the effects of aging on episodic memory using both behavioral and neuroimaging (fMRI) methods. Regarding neuroimaging, we specifically utilize univariate, multivariate (pattern classification, representational similarity analyses), functional connectivity, and structural analytical approaches in our investigation of encoding and retrieval processes underlying memory performance. An emphasis is placed on understanding the cognitive and neural processes underlying false memories and associative memories. With respect to cognitive aging, our research examines neural markers of age-related cognitive decline, as well as mechanisms supporting neural compensation. Other lines of research pursued within the lab include cognitive training, cognitive control, and statistical learning. 

Publications

In Press/Under Review

West, J. T., Wagner, R. L., Steinkrauss, A., & Dennis, N. A. (under review). Investigating the cognitive correlates of semantic and perceptual false memory in older and younger adults: A multi-group latent variable approach.https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/usr7n

Dennis, N.A., Overman, A.A., Carpenter, C.M., Becker, A., West, J.T., & Chase, S.O. (under review). The Otter and the Cleaver: Exploring the neural underpinnings of unitization using the Gestalt principle of proximity. https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/3d57x

Dubec, L., Gerver, C. R., Dennis, N., & Beaty, R. (under review). Enhancing creative divergent thinking in older adults with a semantic retrieval strategy. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/hbpjm

Turney, I. C., Chamberlain, J. D., Hakun, J. G., Steinkrauss, A. C., Ross, L. A., Kirchhoff, B. A., & Dennis, N. A. (under review).  Investigation of the neural effects of memory training to reduce false memories in older adults: Univariate and multivariate analyses. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.11.08.515495

2024

Dennis, N.A., Carpenter, C.M., & Becker, A. (2024). Examining the neural basis of unitization: A review. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-024-01170-3

Carpenter, C. M., & Dennis, N. A. (2024). Investigating the neural basis of schematic false memories by examining schematic and lure pattern similarity. Memory, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2024.2316169

2023

Dennis, N. A., Chamberlain, J. D., & Carpenter, C. M. (2023). False memories: What neuroimaging tells us about how we mis-remember the past. The Sage Handbook of Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529616651

Steinkrauss, A. C., Carpenter, C. M., Tarkenton, M. K., Overman, A. A. &  Dennis, N. A. (2023). Neural distinctiveness and discriminability underlying unitization and associative memory in aging. Aging Brain. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbas.2023.100097

Gerver, C. R., Griffin, J. W., Dennis, N. A. et al. (2023). Memory and creativity: A meta-analytic examination of the relationship between memory systems and creative cognition. Psychon Bull Rev. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-023-02303-4

Carpenter, C. M., Webb, C. E., Overman, A. A. & Dennis, N. A. (2023) Within-category similarity negatively affects associative memory performance in both younger and older adults, Memory, 31(1), 77-91, DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2022.2123524

Carpenter, C. M., Dennis, N. A. (2023) Does unitization really function like items? The role of interference on item and associative memory processes. Mem Cogn 51, 1159–1169. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-022-01389-w

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