Dr. Paul Hentsch

Title: Professor
Department: Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience
Location: Harmon Hall, Room 224
Research Status: Active
Current Project: Episodic Memory Consolidation in Non-REM Sleep Cycles (Year 2 of 3)

Biography

Dr. Paul Hentsch has been a member of the faculty at Wexler University since 1997 and holds the rank of Professor in the Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience. He received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from Vanderbilt University in 1994 and completed postdoctoral research in sleep-stage memory consolidation at the Georgia Research Institute before joining Wexler. He was promoted to full Professor in 2008.

Dr. Hentsch's research addresses the mechanisms by which episodic memory traces are consolidated during non-REM sleep stages. His current three-year project, now in its second year, examines consolidation variability across age cohorts and its relationship to long-term recall fidelity. The project is funded through the Wexler University College of Sciences internal research grant program.

From 2003 through 2010, Dr. Hentsch directed the department's graduate sleep research laboratory and supervised eleven doctoral dissertations. He served as department chair from 2009 to 2014 and continues to serve on the university's research ethics committee.

Research Interests

  • Non-REM sleep and episodic memory consolidation
  • Sleep-stage architecture and long-term recall fidelity
  • Age-related variability in memory consolidation during sleep
  • Graduate research methodology in clinical neuroscience

Publications and Presentations (selected)

Consolidation Variability Across Age Cohorts in Non-REM Sleep: Preliminary Findings

Hentsch, P. (2015). Conference abstract. Annual Meeting of the Sleep Research Society, 2015. abstract

Behavioral Pattern Persistence in Treatment-Resistant Insomnia: A 12-Month Observational Study

Mross, C. & Hentsch, P. (2013). Poster presentation. Southeastern Neuroscience Research Colloquium, 2013. poster, unpublished

Sleep Architecture and Episodic Memory Trace Stabilization: A Review of Current Models

Hentsch, P. (2011). Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience Review, vol. 14, pp. 88–104. peer reviewed

Non-REM Stage Distribution and Recall Performance: A 6-Month Longitudinal Study

Hentsch, P. & Wray, D. (2007). Sleep Research Quarterly, vol. 9, pp. 12–29. peer reviewed

Doctoral Supervision in Clinical Neuroscience: Methodological Standards and Common Failure Modes

Hentsch, P. (2006). Invited address. Wexler University Graduate Research Forum. invited