Department of Psychology

Biography:

Keywords: healthy aging; cognitive function; biopsychosocial predictors; stress

My training is multidisciplinary in nature and thus my approach to research  incorporates different branches of learning including psychology, neuroendocrinology, genetics, and epidemiology. I obtained a MSc in Psychology from Carleton University in 2002 followed by a PhD from McGill University in 2008.  After completing my doctoral studies I pursued postdoctoral training at the University of California San Francisco in clinical and epidemiological research. I also completed a second postdoctoral fellowship at Baycrest in Toronto where I gained experience with imaging techniques.

My research interests center around healthy aging and brain health in late life. More specifically, I am interested in exploring the biological, psychological, and social factors that determine cognitive function in late life.  I am also interested in researching preventive measures that enable healthy aging.

Some specific research questions I am interested in include:

• What factors are associated with high and low cognitive function in older adults?
• Does stress reactivity and allostatic load play a role in cognitive aging?
• What is the association between biopsychosocial factors, brain volume/activity, and cognitive function?
• Do prevention strategies, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction, associate with better cognitive function and other correlates of healthy aging?

I look forward to exploring these and other research questions that will generate new knowledge on factors that enable individuals to live actively and healthily into later life.

Selected Publications:

Fiocco, A.J., Shatenstein, B., Ferland, G., Payette, H., Belleville, S. Kergoat,  M-J., Morais, J., Greenwood, C.E.,  Sodium intake impacts cognitive function in older adults over four years depending on level of physical activity: The NuAGe Study. Neurobiology of Aging. 33: 829.e21-e28, 2012. 

Reichman, W.E, Fiocco, A.J., Rose, N., Exercising the brain to avoid cognitive decline: Examining the evidence. Aging Health. 6: 565-584, 2010.

Fiocco, A.J., Yaffe, K., Defining successful aging: The importance of Including cognitive function over time. Archives in Neurology. 67: 876-880, 2010

Fiocco, A.J., Lindquist, K., Ferrell, R., Rongling, L., Simonsick, E.M., Nalls, M., Harris, T.B., Yaffe, K., COMT genotype and cognitive function: An 8-year longitudinal study in white and black elders. Neurology. 74: 1296-1302, 2010

Yaffe, K. Fiocco, A.J., Lindquist, K., Vittinghoff, E., Simonsick E.M., Newman, A. Satterfield, S., Rosano, C., Rubin, S.M., Ayonayon, H., Harris, T.B., Predictors of maintaining cognitive function in older adults: The Health ABC study. Neurology. 7: 2029-2035, 2009

Fiocco, A.J. Nair, N.P.V., Schwartz, G., Ng Yin Kin, F., Joober, J., Poirier, J. Lupien, S.J., Influence of genetic polymorphism in the apolipoprotein (APOE) and the butyrylcholinesterase (BCHE) gene on stress markers in older adults: A 3-year study. Neurobiology of Aging. 30: 1001-1005, 2007.