Biosketch
I joined the Park Aging Mind Lab at the Center for Vital Longevity in September 2014 and now serve as an Aging Mind Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. I completed my doctoral training in the Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience Area of the Psychology Department at the University of Michigan under the guidance of Dr. Patricia Reuter-Lorenz, investigating the consequences and mechanisms of directed forgetting in working memory. At the University of Michigan, I also worked with Dr. Rachael Seidler, using fMRI data to study cerebellar resting state functional connectivity in Parkinson’s patients ON and OFF medication, and examining the effect of emotion on motor learning. Prior to my doctoral work, I earned a B.A. with Honors in Psychology and a minor in Biology from Scripps College in Claremont, California. I also completed a Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program on the mind and brain at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. Outside of the lab, I enjoy tap dancing, playing board games, and eating sushi with friends.
Research Interests
Generally, I am interested in human memory, executive function, and aging. My doctoral work examined the voluntary control of working memory representations following directed forgetting instructions. I also have previous research experience studying name learning, motor learning, dual-task interference, and the influence of emotion on cognition. Currently, I am part of the research team investigating the cognitive neuroscience of aging, using data from the Dallas Lifespan Brain Study (DLBS). I am primarily interested in examining whether certain lifestyle characteristics, such as day-to-day busyness, can heighten cognitive abilities and delay the course of normal brain aging.
Selected Publications
Festini, S. B., McDonough, I. M.,Park, D. C. (2016). The busier the better: Greater busyness is associated with better cognition. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 8,(98). doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2016.00098
Park, D.C. & Festini, S.B. (In Press). The middle-aged brain: A cognitive neuroscience perspective. In Roberto Cabeza, Lars Nyberg, and Denise C. Park (Eds.), The Cognitive Neurosicence of Aging: Linking Cognitive and Cerebral Aging, 2nd edition. New York: Oxford University Press.
Festini, S.B., Preston, S.D., Reuter-Lorenz, P.A., & Seidler, R.D. (2016). Emotion is dissociable from error during motor learning. Experimental Brain Research. doi: 10.1007/s0021-0154542-z
Festini, S.B., Bernard, J.A., Kwak, Y., Peltier, S., Bohnen, N.I., Muller, M.L.T.M., Dayalu, P., & Seidler, R.D. (2015). Altered cerebellar connectivity in Parkinson’s patients ON and OFF L-DOPA medication. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9(6), doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00214.
Festini, S.B. & Reuter-Lorenz, P.A. (2014). Cognitive control of familiarity: Directed forgetting reduces proactive interference in working memory. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 14, 78-89. doi:10.3758/s13415-0130231-1
Selected Presentations
Festini, S.B., McDonough, I.M., & Park, D.C. (2015). Busyness across the adult lifespan: The busier the better. Poster presented at the 56th annual Psychonomic Society Conference. Chicago, IL. APA Division 3 2015 Best Poster Finalist.
Festini, S.B. & Park, D.C. (October 2015). Maintaining Cognitive Well-Being with Age: The Role of Social and Cognitive Engagement. Plenary talk during the American Congress of Rehabilitative Medicine 92nd Annual Conference, Dallas, TX.
Festini, S. B., & Reuter-Lorenz, P. A. (2014). On the role of rehearsal in directed forgetting within working memory. Poster presented at the 55th annual Psychonomic Society Conference. Long Beach, CA.
Festini, S. B., Bernard, J. A., Kwak, Y., Peltier, S., Bohnen, N. I., Muller, M. L. T. M., Dayalu, P., & Seidler, R. D. (2014). Evidence for compensatory and pathological cerebellar connectivity in Parkinson’s Disease. Poster presented at the 21st annual Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference. Boston, MA.
