Contact
David Loewenstein, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging (CNSA)
Associate Director and Site Principal Investigator, 1Florida ADRC
Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Neurology
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Research Focus
The Loewenstein laboratory, long funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging (NIH/NIA) and the Florida Department of Health, has a long history in developing innovative cognitive and neuropsychological instruments and examining their relationship with biomarkers of brain health, including amyloid and tau PET scans, CSF, MRI, fMRI, and new fluid biomarkers. We developed the first scale for the direct assessment of functional capacity in Alzheimer’s disease (the Direct Assessment of Functional Status Scale: DAFS), which has been translated into multiple languages.
We developed the Loewenstein and Acevedo Scales for Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L). This cognitive stress test can identify changes that occur in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) — changes that current neuropsychological measures may not capture. The test’s unique properties, such as the failure to recover from proactive semantic interference (frPSI) and eliciting semantic intrusions, are unique in the field. The LASSI-L has been translated into different languages and used by numerous other labs nationally and internationally, with brief versions developed for screening purposes.
Our lab has also developed novel cognitive measures and identified prodromal cognitive impairment stages that precede the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) diagnosis. Other cognitive stress tests are under development.