Jenna L. Merenstein, Ph.D.
I obtained a B.S. in Psychology (with a concentration in Mind, Brain, and Behavior) from Colorado State University and Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from Dr. Lani Bennett's Laboratory of Aging and Neurocognitive Imaging at the University of California, Riverside. Currently, I am a Postdoctoral Associate in Dr. Dave Madden's laboratory at Duke University Medical Center. My ultimate career goal is to establish my own laboratory investigating the neurobiological substrates of healthy cognitive aging and how these neural properties differ from Alzheimer's disease.
Human aging is associated with some degree of cognitive decline, even in healthy older adults without dementia. But our cognitive abilities are not equally affected across the lifespan. Some abilities, like world knowledge, hold steady, or even increase as we age. Other abilities based on processing speed, like attention and memory, show more substantial decline. I focus on these “fluid” cognitive abilities as they are the chief complaint among healthy older adults. I specifically seek to understand whether age-related decline in fluid cognition can be attributed to differences in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of brain structure and function. My work is motivated by the cortical disconnection model, which proposes that degradation of the white matter regions that connect distributed gray matter regions contributes to age-related cognitive dysfunction.
Instead of taking a deep dive into a single cognitive domain, I study multiple cognitive domains in the same individuals – namely, learning, memory, executive function, and perceptual-motor speed.
My neuroimaging approach is similarly multifaceted. I study age-related differences in functional MRI measures of brain function, diffusion-weighted imaging measures (DWI) of brain microstructure, and quantitative susceptibility mapping measures of brain iron. I employ cutting-edge techniques, including high-resolution multi-shot DWI (≤ 1 mm3), and cortical column-based analyses that achieve a fine-grained anatomical resolution.
I recruit adults across the entire lifespan, including those in midlife, where the earliest signs of cognitive decline may be observed, as well as the oldest-old (ages 85+ years). The oldest-old are the fastest growing segment of the global population and may represent a unique model for studying successful aging.
And it isn’t just about characterizing healthy aging. I also compare neural signatures between healthy older adults and adults with Alzheimer’s disease to help differentiate normal aging from age-related neurodegenerative disease.
Address
Brain Imaging and Analysis Center
Box 3918
Duke University Medical Center
Durham, NC 27710
Contact Information
Email: jenna.merenstein@duke.edu
Twitter: @j_merenstein
Google Scholar
Curriculum Vitae (Version: Feb. 2024)