David Madden, Ph.D.[Edit Page]

Professor, Psychiatry

Ph.D., 1977, University of California, Davis (Psychology)

Research Interests

Age-related changes in cognitive function and their relation to structural and functional changes in the brain.

Resesarch Statement

My research has focused primarily on the cognitive neuroscience of aging: the investigation of age-related changes in perception, attention, and memory, using both behavioral measures and neuroimaging techniques, including positron emission tomography (PET), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).

Within this framework, I have been particularly interested in behavioral measures using reaction time, with the goal of distinguishing age-related changes in specific cognitive abilities from more general effects arising from a slowing in elementary perceptual processes. The cognitive abilities of interest include selective attention as measured in visual search tasks, semantic and episodic memory retrieval, and executive control processes. The influence of health status variables, such as hypertension, on cognitive function, has also been a theme of this research.

In collaboration with BIAC members, and individuals from the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Aging Center, and the Departments of Radiology, and Psychology and Neuroscience, I have been investigating age-related changes in cortical activation, from fMRI, in the context of specific cognitive tasks. We have also been obtaining measures of cerebral white matter integrity, from DTI, with the goal of understanding the age-related structural changes in white matter and their role in cortical activation and cognitive performance.

Duke University Academic Affiliations

Professor of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center (Primary)

Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University (Secondary)

Recent Representative Publications

Madden DJ, Spaniol J, Costello MC, Bucur B, White LE, Cabeza R, Davis SW, Dennis NA, Provenzale JM & Huettel SA (2009). Cerebral white matter integrity mediates adult age differences in cognitive performance. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 21(2): 289-302.

Bucur B, Madden DJ, Spaniol J, Provenzale JM, Cabeza R, White LE & Huettel SA (2008). Age-related slowing of memory retrieval: contributions of perceptual speed and cerebral white matter integrity. Neurobiology of Aging. 29(7): 1070-9.

Dennis NA, Hayes SM, Prince SE, Madden DJ, Huettel SA & Cabeza R (2008). Effects of aging on the neural correlates of successful item and source memory encoding. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 34(4): 791-808.

Madden DJ, Spaniol J, Whiting WL, Bucur B, Provenzale JM, Cabeza R, White LE & Huettel SA (2007). Adult age differences in the functional neuroanatomy of visual attention: a combined fMRI and DTI study. Neurobiology of Aging. 28(3): 459-76.

Whiting WL, Madden DJ & Babcock KJ (2007). Overriding age differences in attentional capture with top-down processing. Psychology and Aging. 22(2): 223-32.

Madden DJ, Spaniol J, Bucur B & Whiting WL (2007). Age-related increase in top-down activation of visual features. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 60(5): 644-51.

Madden DJ (2007). Aging and Visual Attention. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 16(2): 70-4.

Daselaar SM, Fleck MS, Dobbins IG, Madden DJ & Cabeza R (2006). Effects of healthy aging on hippocampal and rhinal memory functions: an event-related fMRI study. Cerebral Cortex. 16(12): 1771-82.

Spaniol J, Madden DJ & Voss A (2006). A diffusion model analysis of adult age differences in episodic and semantic long-term memory retrieval. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 32(1): 101-17.

Madden DJ, Whiting WL, Huettel SA, White LE, MacFall JR & Provenzale JM (2004). Diffusion tensor imaging of adult age differences in cerebral white matter: Relation to response time. NeuroImage. 21(3): 1174-81.

Madden DJ, Whiting W, Cabeza R & Huettel SA (2004). Age-related preservation in top-down attentional guidance during visual search. Psychology and Aging. 19(2): 304-9.

Madden DJ, Whiting W, Provenzale JM & Huettel SA (2004). Age-related changes in neural activity during visual target detection measured by fMRI. Cerebral Cortex. 14(2): 143-155.

Educational and Training Opportunities

The Cognitive Psychology Laboratory participates as a training site for several educational programs:

The Integrative Program in Cognitive Neuroscience (IPCN) at Duke University, offers a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience. This program of full-time graduate studies is administered by the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience:

http://www.mind.duke.edu/training/graduate.html

The Post-Baccalaureate Fellowships in Functional Neuroimaging offer the opportunity to work in a neuroscience lab, for a year or two, following completion of an undergraduate degree. For individuals interested in applying to graduate or professional school, this program offers exposure to ongoing research programs in neuroscience, as well as career mentorship. The program is administered by the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center:

http://www.biac.duke.edu/fellowship/

The Undergraduate Program in Human Development at Duke University, offers a certificate in Human Development, and part of the program is a research apprenticeship:

http://www.geri.duke.edu/educate/realundergrad.html

The postdoctoral Research Training Program at the Aging Center is a postdoctoral fellowship program funded as an institutional training program by the National Institutes of Health and National Institute on Aging. For individuals with a Ph.D. degree who are interested in aging research, from either a neuroscience or a behavioral perspective, the program offers a two-year fellowship to work with a mentor and lab on aging-related research:

http://www.geri.duke.edu/post_doc/

contact Dr. Madden for additional information regarding any of these programs.