Nicole Logan

  • Assistant Professor
  • Phone: 401.874.5449
  • Email: nicolelogan@uri.edu
  • Office Location: Independence Square, Suite N, Room 230-L
  • Website

Biography

**Dr. Logan is considering applications for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Dr. Logan is an Assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at URI. Dr. Logan completed her B.S.(Hons) in Exercise Science & Psychology (double major), and M.S. in Psychology from the University of Auckland, in New Zealand, where she originates from. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology at Northeastern University in the Center for Cognitive and Brain Health, in Boston. Her research focuses on understanding how a variety of lifestyle and health factors (such as exercise, childhood obesity, nutrition, and early life adversity) influence cognition, mental wellbeing, and brain health. She aims to create interdisciplinary health-research projects with the intention of improving cognitive quality of life in targeted populations throughout the lifespan.

Dr. Logan currently teaches KIN/PSY 581 (Psychological Aspects of a Healthy Lifestyle) and NEU 504 (Neuroethics) at the graduate level. Her teaching interests are in the areas of exercise neuroscience and research methods.

Research

Dr. Logan has a background in psychology, neuroscience, and exercise sciences. Dr Logan’s research investigates the intersection between cognitive neuroscience and exercise neuroscience, examining the relationships between a variety of health factors on cognitive and brain function, throughout the lifespan. Her research utilizes neuroimaging techniques, such as EEG and MRI/fMRI, coupled with cognitive tasks, to assess these relationships. She is particularly interested in the mechanistic influence of childhood obesity on the brain’s response to exercise, and how mental health and early childhood adversity influence this trajectory. Her research is interdisciplinary, working alongside teams which focus on physical activity and exercise interventions, cardiorespiratory fitness, obesity, nutrition and hydration, metabolism, cognitive psychology, mental wellbeing, and neuroscience, throughout childhood, young adulthood, and ageing populations.

If you are interested in joining Dr. Logan’s lab, please email her or visit the lab website for more information.

Research Keywords: childhood obesity, exercise, cognition, brain function, neuroimaging, development, mental wellbeing, nutrition, neuroimaging, EEG, MRI/fMRI

Education

• Ph.D., Psychology, Northeastern University
• M.S., Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand
• B.S. (Hons) Psychology, University of Auckland, New Zealand
• B.S. Psychology and Exercise Sciences (double major), University of Auckland, New Zealand

Selected Publications

Logan, N.E., Henry, D. A., Hillman, C.H., Kramer, A.K. (2022). Trained Athletes and Cognitive Function: A Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology.

Logan, N.E., Westfall, D.R., Raine, L.B., Anteraper, S.A., Chaddock-Heyman, L., Whitfield-Gabrieli, S., Kramer, A.F., & Hillman, C.H. (2022). The Differential Effect of Fitness and Adiposity on Functional Brain Connectivity in Preadolescent Children. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Raine, L.B., Watrous, J.N., McDonald, K.M., Logan, N.E., Khan, N.A., Kramer, A.K., Hillman, C.H. (2021). Aerobic Fitness, B-Vitamins, and Weight Status Are Related to Selective Attention in Children. Nutrients.

Logan, N.E., Raine, L.B., Drollette, E.S., Castelli, D.M., Khan, N.A., Kramer, A.F., & Hillman, C.H. (2020). The Differential relationship of an afterschool physical activity intervention on brain and cognition in children with obesity and their normal weight peers. Pediatric Obesity.

Hillman, C.H., McDonald, K.M., Logan, N.E. (2020). A Review of the Effects of Physical Activity on Cognition and Brain Health Across Children and Adolescence. Nestlé Nutrition Institute Workshops Series, 95.

Hillman, C.H., Logan, N.E. & Shigeta, T.T. (2019). A Review of Acute Physical Activity Effects on Brain and Cognition in Children. American College of Sports Medicine: Translational Journal.

Westfall, D.R., Logan, N.E., Khan, N.A. & Hillman, C.H. (2019). Cognitive Assessments in Hydration Research Involving Children: Methods and Considerations. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism.

Raine, L. B., Kao, S. C., Pindus, D., Westfall, D. R., Shigeta, T. T., Logan, N.E., Cadenas-Sanchez, C., Li, J., Drollette, E. S., Pontifex, M. B. & Khan, N. A. (2018). A large-scale reanalysis of childhood fitness and inhibitory control. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement.