Faculty
Brief Biography
Research Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Maine, 2000 to present. Chair, Department of Psychology, 2007 to present. BA, Economics, Colgate University (1969); PhD, Psychology, University of Maine (1985). Research support: MTI, NIH. Investigator, Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study.
My research interests are to investigate biological, psychological and social correlates of cognitive aging. Since 1981 my major research activity has involved collaboration with Merrill F. Elias on the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study (MSLS). Beginning at Syracuse University in 1975 and moving to the University of Maine in 1977, the MSLS has continued uninterrupted for more than 33 years thanks to support from the National Institute on Aging (NIH) and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NIH). This community-based study offers students and faculty opportunities for archival data analysis focusing on relations among newly recognized and traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease and cognitive performance across the adult lifespan. Some examples of variables in the data base are as follows: blood pressure, diabetes, blood glucose levels, adiposity, depression, anxiety, stroke, cardiovascular disease, homocysteine, lipids, ApoE e4, arterial stiffness (indexed by pulse wave velocity), smoking, alcohol consumption, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, folate, functional disability, activities of daily living, stroke and dementia history. The MSLS offers longitudinal and cross-sectional data on these risk factors and an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests. Among our collaborators are faculty at the University of Maine, Boston University, the University of Virginia, the University of Southern California, Oxford University (UK), the University or Birmingham (UK) and Australian National University.
Sample of Publication Topics:
Dore, G. A., Elias, M. F., Robbins, M. A., Budge, M. M., & Elias, P. K. (2008). Relation between central adiposity and cognitive function in the Maine-Syracuse Study: Attenuation by physical activity. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 35(3), 341-350. (DOI 10.1007/s12160-008-9038-7)
Elias, M.F., Robbins, M.A., Budge, M.M., Elias, P.K., Dore, G.A., Brennan, S.L., Johnston C., & Nagy, Z. (2008). Homocysteine and cognitive performance: modification by the ApoE genotype. Neuroscience Letters, 430, 64-69.
Elias, M. F., Robbins, M. A., Budge, M. M., Elias, P. K., Brennan, S. L., Johnston, C., Nagy, Z., & Bates, C. J., (2006). Homocysteine, folate, vitamins B6 and B12 blood levels in relation to cognitive performance: The Maine-Syracuse Study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 68, 547-554.
Robbins, M.A., Elias, M.F., Elias, P.K., & Budge, M.M. (2005). Blood pressure and cognitive function in an African-American and a Caucasian-American sample: The Maine-Syracuse Study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 67, 707-714.
Robbins, M. A., Elias, M. F., Budge, M. M., Brennan, S. L., & Elias, P. K. (2005). Homocysteine, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cognitive performance: The Maine-Syracuse Study. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, 43, 1101-1106.
Elias, P. K., Elias, M. F., Robbins, M. A., & Budge, M. M. (2004). Blood pressure-related cognitive decline: does age make a difference? Hypertension, 44, 631-636.
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