About

Alice Cronin-Golomb is a Professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Boston University. She received her Ph.D. in Psychobiology from the California Institute of Technology and holds a B.A. in Biology-Psychology from Wesleyan University. She is a faculty member in both the Clinical Program and the Program in Brain, Behavior, and Cognition of PBS, as well as the Neurophotonics Center and the interdisciplinary Center for Systems Neuroscience. Dr. Cronin-Golomb is the director of the Vision and Cognition Laboratory. Her research spans perception, cognition, motor function, mood, sleep, and other aspects of daily function in aging and the age-related neurodegenerative disorders Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Her methodologies include perceptual and cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychological assessment, neuroimaging, and visual psychophysics. Her lab engages in basic research and in the development of interventions to enhance quality of life, especially in older adults. She collaborates with faculty from the Charles River Campus, including the College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College and the College of Engineering, as well as with faculty from the Medical Campus and the VA Boston Healthcare System. Dr. Cronin-Golomb teaches courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in Neuropsychology.

Selected publications

• Long‐term forgetting, sleep, and tau in autosomal‐dominant Alzheimer's disease

  Alzheimer s & Dementia · 2026-02-01

  articleOpen access

  INTRODUCTION: Accelerated long-term forgetting (ALF) may represent one of the earliest cognitive changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, whether ALF emerges in the preclinical stage of autosomal-dominant AD (ADAD) is unclear, and its underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. METHODS: We assessed ALF via long-term memory testing, sleep physiology via overnight electroencephalography, and AD neuropathology burden via positron emission tomography in 28 non-demented PSEN1 E280A mutation carriers and 24 healthy non-carriers from a Colombian ADAD kindred. RESULTS: Non-demented carriers exhibited ALF despite having intact short-term memory. They also demonstrated isolated reduction in parietal sleep spindle (SS) power, whereas other aspects of sleep remained intact. Reduced parietal SS power was associated with both ALF and greater tau burden in the precuneus. DISCUSSION: ALF is among the earliest cognitive changes in preclinical ADAD, and the specific disruption of parietal SS power may be a key neurophysiologic mechanism linking early tau accumulation to ALF.

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• Subjective cognitive concerns and global metacognitive bias in prodromal Parkinson’s and Parkinson’s disease without cognitive impairment.

  Neuropsychology · 2026-04-16

  article

  OBJECTIVE: Subjective cognitive decline is common in persons with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) and prodromal PD (proPD) and predicts objective cognitive decline. Subjective concerns may reflect enhanced sensitivity to cognitive changes or negative global metacognitive biases (general underconfidence, not task specific) related to depression or anxiety. We evaluated the presence and predictors of metacognitive awareness, the self-assessment of one's cognitive abilities, in PwPD and proPD. METHOD: Data from 468 PwPD, 817 proPD, and 75 healthy control adults were drawn from the Parkinson's Progressive Markers Initiative database. Measures included subjective- and objective-cognitive composites. We assessed metacognitive sensitivity (the relation between subjective and objective cognition) and the relation between metacognitive bias (subjective minus objective cognition) and depression, anxiety, demographics, and PD-related variables. Significant associations were included in linear regression models separately for PwPD and proPD. To assess effect consistency, we examined baseline versus Time 2 difference scores in a subsample who had the same measures 12 months later. RESULTS: ² = .05). CONCLUSIONS: Negative metacognitive bias, predicted by depression and anxiety, may underlie subjective cognitive concerns in PwPD and proPD, with implications for treatment. These findings support using global approaches to metacognitive awareness, which are likely more accurate measures of daily cognitive awareness than are task-specific measures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

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• The Relation between Exercise and Non‐Motor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease

  Movement Disorders Clinical Practice · 2025-11-14 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  BACKGROUND: Most exercise programs for persons with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) focus on improving motor function but not non-motor symptoms (NMS). OBJECTIVE: We investigated the relation between self-reported exercise and NMS including depression, anxiety, cognition, fatigue, and non-motor experiences of daily living. METHODS: PwPD (n = 347) responded to an online survey of questionnaires assessing exercise engagement and NMS. Of this larger sample, exercisers (n = 186; 105 women) were demographically matched to non-exercisers (n = 72; 39 women) and their scores were compared. Among exercisers, we examined associations between exercise dosage (number of days of exercise/week and continuous minutes of exercise/day) and NMS. We also assessed differences in NMS between groups defined by number of days/week of exercise: high (4-7 days), moderate (2, 3), and low (≤1). Logistic regression analyses examined factors associated with exercise engagement. RESULTS: PwPD who endorsed exercising at all reported fewer and less severe NMS than non-exercisers (P's < 0.05). More days of exercise/week were correlated with lower fatigue (ρ = -0.16, P = 0.03) and better subjective cognition (ρ = 0.15, P = 0.04). Moderate- and high-frequency exercise groups endorsed less depression, fatigue, and non-motor daily living symptoms than the low-frequency group. The high-frequency group further endorsed less anxiety, better cognition, and fewer total NMS than the low-frequency group. Higher levels of fatigue were associated with less likelihood of exercising (OR = 0.93, P = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare professionals may highlight the observed associations between exercise and NMS in clinical interactions with PwPD. As NMS may also affect the ability to exercise, interventions to alleviate NMS, particularly fatigue, may be valuable.

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• Using Principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Treat Anxiety in Parkinson's Disease

  Movement Disorders Clinical Practice · 2025-03-21 · 4 citations

  reviewOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Anxiety significantly affects persons with Parkinson's disease (PwP), often emerging in the prodromal phase before the onset of symptoms and persisting throughout the disease's course. It is among the most disabling, stigmatizing, and under-recognized symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Consequently, it is critical to provide tools that can be universally applied and that are accessible to help all PwP live better. This article discusses the nature of anxiety in PwP, how to identify it, and how to treat it across stages of the disease. We highlight cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a type of psychotherapy in widespread use for anxiety and depression in general and increasingly used in PwP. The neurologist can apply the basic principles of CBT. The principles can be used by clinicians who are treating PwP globally, as they require no pharmacological intervention and minimal resources. As the disease progresses, a multidisciplinary team may be preferable to address the complex challenges that PD presents, including anxiety. The focus is on a patient-centered approach, providing compassion, hope, and resources to optimize the mental and physical well-being of PwP. Empowering PwP fosters self-agency and can significantly improve quality of life.

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• Self-Reported Insomnia and Poor Sleep Quality Are Associated with Self-Reported Cognitive Changes in Older Adults

  Clocks & Sleep · 2025-10-02 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Older adults are vulnerable to changes in sleep with age. Poor sleep quality is associated with self-reported cognitive changes, which can occur before the onset of objective cognitive decline associated with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. The objective of this study was to examine associations between self-reported sleep complaints, objective sleep quality, and self-reported cognitive changes and their relations to symptoms of depression and anxiety in a group of community-dwelling older adults. Adults aged ≥ 50 without dementia (n = 45) were recruited and completed 1–2 weeks of rest-activity monitoring using a wrist-worn device, underwent a test of global cognitive functioning (Mini-Mental State Examination; MMSE), and completed questionnaires assessing insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index; ISI), subjective sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index; PSQI), self-reported cognitive changes (Cognitive Function Instrument; CFI), and symptoms of depression and anxiety (Beck Depression Inventory-II; BDI-II and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item assessment; GAD-7). Pearson partial correlations assessed relations among subjective and objective sleep quality, insomnia ratings, CFI ratings, and global cognition, while controlling for BDI-II and GAD-7 ratings. Exploratory analyses examined the correlation between PSQI component scores and CFI ratings and global cognition. Greater ISI (r = 0.50, p ≤ 0.001) ratings significantly correlated with higher CFI scores. PSQI total ratings and actigraphy-based measures (n = 41) did not significantly correlate with CFI scores. Exploratory PSQI subscale analyses revealed that worse subjective sleep quality (r = 0.31, p = 0.048), shorter sleep duration (r = 0.32, p = 0.04), and greater use of sleep medications (r = 0.31, p = 0.048) correlated with higher CFI scores. Poorer sleep quality due to less time spent asleep, fragmented or disturbed sleep, and requiring medications to sleep, may be associated with greater memory concerns. Alternatively, worries about cognition may deleteriously affect sleep. Subjective measures of sleep quality may be useful to identify older adults at increased risk of cognitive decline.

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• Practice effects persist over two decades of cognitive testing: Implications for longitudinal research

  medRxiv · 2025-06-17

  preprintOpen access

  Background: Repeated cognitive testing can boost scores due to practice effects (PEs), yet it remains unclear whether PEs persist across multiple follow-ups and long durations. We examined PEs across multiple assessments from midlife to old age in a nonclinical sample. Method: Men (N=1,608) in the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA) underwent neuropsychological assessment comprising 30 measures across 4 waves (~6-year testing intervals) spanning up to 20 years. We leveraged age-matched replacement participants to estimate PEs at each wave. We compared cognitive trajectories and MCI prevalence using unadjusted versus PE-adjusted scores. Results: Across follow-ups, a range of 7-12 tests (out of 30) demonstrated significant PEs, especially in episodic memory and visuospatial domains. Adjusting for PEs resulted in improved detection of cognitive decline and MCI, with up to 20% higher MCI prevalence. Conclusion: PEs persist across multiple assessments and decades underscoring the importance of accounting for PEs in longitudinal studies.

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• Vulnerability to memory decline in aging revealed by a mega-analysis of structural brain change

  Nature Communications · 2025-11-21 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Brain atrophy is a key factor behind episodic memory loss in aging, but the nature and ubiquity of this relationship remains poorly understood. This study leverages 13 longitudinal datasets, including 3737 cognitively healthy adults (10,343 MRI scans; 13,460 memory assessments), to determine whether brain change-memory change associations are more pronounced with age and genetic risk for Alzheimer's Disease. Both factors are associated with accelerated brain decline, yet it remains unclear whether memory loss is exacerbated beyond what atrophy alone would predict. Additionally, we assess whether memory decline aligns with a global pattern of atrophy or stems from distinct regional contributions. Our mega-analysis reveals a nonlinear relationship between memory decline and brain atrophy, primarily affecting individuals with above-average brain structural decline. The associations are stronger in the hippocampus but also spread across diverse cortical and subcortical regions. The associations strengthen with age, reaching moderate associations in participants in their eighties. While APOE ε4 carriers exhibit steeper brain and memory loss, genetic risk has no effect on the change-change associations. These findings support the presence of common biological macrostructural substrates underlying memory function in older age which are vulnerable to multiple age-related factors, even in the absence of overt pathological changes.

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• Quantifying the impact of hair and skin characteristics on fNIRS signal quality for enhanced inclusivity

  Nature Human Behaviour · 2025-09-02 · 7 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Religious stress coping is associated with lower entorhinal tau pathology and better memory performance in autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease

  Journal of Alzheimer s Disease · 2025-04-03

  articleOpen access

  Stress is a known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), but religious stress coping practices, (e.g., prayer and attending religious services) may reduce this risk. We investigated the relation between religious stress coping and memory in cognitively-unimpaired individuals from the Colombian kindred with autosomal dominant AD. Additionally, we examined the link between religious stress coping and brain pathology. Religious coping was associated with lower entorhinal tau ( p = 0.02) and better memory performance ( p = 0.04) in Presenilin-1 E280A mutation carriers, but not in non-carriers. These findings suggest that religious coping may mitigate AD tau pathology and cognitive decline and warrant further investigation.

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• Positive Associations between the Personality Trait of Openness and Verbal Learning and Memory in Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease: A Pilot Study

  Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology · 2025-05-08

  articleSenior author

  OBJECTIVE: Individuals with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) often experience difficulties with verbal learning and memory, even in the absence of dementia. Higher levels of the personality trait of openness predict better learning and memory in other older adult populations, but openness's contributions in PD are unknown. Lower openness and alterations in openness's neural substrates in PD suggest that openness may have strong associations with memory in PD. METHOD: We used the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2) personality self-rating questionnaire and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) in a cross-sectional sample of 33 persons with PD (PwPD; 17 men), 26 healthy older adults (OA; 14 men), and 37 healthy younger adults (YA; 19 men). Correlation analysis examined relations between openness (BFI-2 open-mindedness) and verbal learning and memory (RAVLT performances). Correlation and regression analysis controlled for psychosocial and cognitive factors and examined possible moderators and mediators. RESULTS: Significant, positive correlations between openness and RAVLT scores occurred in PwPD but not in OA or YA. Among PwPD, openness independently predicted most RAVLT scores in regression models. Its associations were not explained by PD duration, disease severity, disease stage, or sex. PwPD low in openness performed worse than OA. Among OA, older age predicted significantly more positive association between openness and memory. CONCLUSIONS: Openness is positively associated with verbal memory in PwPD, as well as in healthy older adults (depending on age), with implications for the relevance of personality factors in cognition.

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