Paul J. Massman, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
Heyne Building, Room 126
713-743-8569
pmassman@uh.edu
Biographical Summary
My current research is focused on the measurement and correlates of progression of neuropsychological deficits in Alzheimer's disease. I utilize the database of the Baylor College of Medicine Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center, and collaborate with its director, Rachelle Doody, M.D., Ph.D., as well as other investigators from Baylor and the University of Texas Health Science Center. There are over 2000 patients and normal elderly controls in this database, and active participants continue to return for annual follow-up visits. Neuropsychological test data (e.g., Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale, Wechsler Memory Scale subtests) are collected, as well as information about patients' personal and medical hisotry, current neurological and general physical functioning, informant reports about patients' everyday functioning, apolipoprotein E genotype, and medication usage. I also collaborate with other investigators in the Texas Alzheimer's Research Consortium (TARC), funded by the state of Texas, of which Baylor is a key member institution. Some current studies are examining relationships between biomarkers (e.g., cortisol, inflammatory markers) and neuropsychological and psychiatric functioning in Alzheimer's patients.
Research Interests
- Progression and Heterogeneity of Neuropsychological Deficits in Alzheimer's disease patients
- Relationships Between Biomarkers (e.g., cortisol) and neuropsychological/psychiatric functioning in Alzheimer's patients
- Participation in the Texas Alzheimer's Research Consortium (TARC)
Teaching
- PSYC 3341: Physiological Psychology (undergraduate)
- PSYC 6331: Cognitive and Clinical Neuropsychology (graduate)
- PSYC 7334: Dementia
- PSYC 7397: Advanced Clinical Assessment (of adults, graduate)
Selected Publications
Doody, R. S., Massman, P. J., & Dunn, J. K. (2001). A method for estimating progression rates in Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Archives of Neurology, 58, 449-454.
Davis, R. N., Massman, P. J., & Doody, R. S. (2003). Effects of blood pressure on neuropsycho- logical functioning in Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 18, 19-32.
Davis, R. N., Massman, P. J., & Doody, R. S. (2003). WAIS-R factor structure in Alzheimer鈥檚 disease patients: A comparison of alternative models and assessment of their generalizability. Psychology and Aging, 18, 836-843.
Atchison, T. B., Bradshaw, M., & Massman, P. J. (2004). Investigation of profile differences between Alzheimer鈥檚 disease patients declining at different rates: Examination of baseline neuropsychological data. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 19, 1007-1015.
Hoyt, B. D., Massman, P. J., Schatschneider, C., & Doody, R. S. (2005). Individual growth curve analysis of APOE 蔚4-associated cognitive decline in Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Archives of Neurology, 62, 454-459.
Doody, R. S., Pavlik, V., Massman, P. J., Kenan, M., Yeh, S., Powell, S., Cooke, N., Dyer, M.D., & Demirovic, J. (2005). Changing patient characteristics and survival experience in an Alzheimer鈥檚 Center patient cohort. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 10, 198- 208.
Pavlik, V. N., Doody, R. S., Massman, P. J., & Chan, W. (2006). The influence of premorbid IQ and education on progression of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 22, 367-377.
Atchison, T. B., Massman, P. J., & Doody, R. S. (2007). Baseline cognitive function predicts rate of decline in basic-care abilities of individuals with dementia of the Alzheimer鈥檚 type. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 22, 99-107.
Yan, J. H., Rountree, S., Massman, P. J., Doody, R. S., & Li, H. (2008). Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and mild cognitive impairment deteriorate fine movement control. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 42, 1203-1212.
O鈥橞ryant, S. E., Waring, S. C., Cullum, C. M., Hall, J., Lacritz, L, Massman, P. J., Lupo, P. J., Reisch, J. S., & Doody, R. (2008). Staging dementia using Clinical Dementia Rating scale sum of boxes scores: A Texas Alzheimer鈥檚 Research Consortium Study. Archives of Neurology, 65, 1091-1095.
O鈥橞ryant, S. E., Hobson, V., Hall, J. R., Waring, S. C., Chan, W., Massman, P., Lacritz, L., Cullum, C. M., & Diaz-Arrastia, R. (2009). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Journal of Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease, 337-341.
Benge, J. F., Balsis, S., Geraci, L, Massman, P. J., & Doody, R. S. (2009). How well do the ADAS-cog and its subscales measure cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer鈥檚 disease? Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 28, 63-69.
O鈥橞ryant, S. E., Waring, S. C., Hobson, V., Hall, J. R., Moore, C. B., Bottliglieri, T., Massman, P., & Diaz-Arrastia, R. (in press). Decreased C-reactive protein levels in Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology.
McNeese, T. D., Snow, A. L., Rehm, L. P., Massman, P. J., Davila, J. A., Walder, A., Morgan, R. O., & Kunik, M. E. (in press). Type, frequency, and disruptiveness of aggressive behavior in patients with dementia. Alzheimer鈥檚 Care Today.
O鈥橞ryant, S. E., Lacritz, L., Hall, J., Waring, S. C., Massman, P. J., & Cullum, C. M. (in press). New interpretive guidelines for the Clinical Dementia Rating scale: An analysis of the NACC database. Archives of Neurology.