About

The Hoth lab at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine conducts clinical research to understand biological mechanisms of cognitive decline in adults with cardiopulmonary medical illnesses (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], heart failure, and obstructive sleep apnea).  Our research is interdisciplinary including collaboration with experts in psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, pulmonary medicine, physiology and medical engineering.

The current primary focus of our research is to understand how pulmonary and systemic vascular changes, which are often associated with COPD, affect brain structure and function measured using paper and pencil neuropsychological tasks and brain MRI.  We are also working on several additional projects that focus on psychological adjustment in COPD.  These projects include identifying demographic and clinical factors that are associated with elevated anxiety and depression in COPD, and understanding the link between patients’ social environment and their health behaviors.

Read: Hoth awarded $3 million to study links between lung disease and brain function