His presidency was just another busy year for this tireless researcher

When Norm Abeles, PhD, became APA president in 1997, he was also elected chair of the faculty governance at Michigan State University, where he has been a fixture in the psychology department for longer than he likes to admit. It didn?t surprise those familiar with his energetic style that, in spite of the added workload, he still managed to run the neuropsychology laboratory he founded at MSU, keep up his writing and research and even stick to his regular Monday afternoon research lab sessions with students.

And, oh yes, noted Dick Suinn, PhD, APA?s president-elect, in his introduction at the 1998 Annual Convention in San Francisco, Abeles also managed, during his presidential year to:

? Form the APA task force that established guidelines for the assessment of memory functions in older adults.

? Establish an APA committee on aging to ensure that psychology was addressing the needs of elderly adults.

? Create a working group, which published the brochure 'What practitioners should know about working with older adults.'

? Orchestrate a miniconvention on aging issues at APA?s 1997 Annual Convention in Chicago.

'Dr. Abeles has raised our consciousness about aging and has set into motion various initiatives that will help redefine the term ?aging,?' said Suinn.

True to form, though, the cut-to-the-chase Abeles grinned briefly at the memory of his busy year and promptly aimed his presidential address at his favorite topic: work.

'We have lots of research questions to keep us busy for a very long time,' he said. 'We have no shortage of individuals who want to participate in our research. We get lots of people who are certain in their own minds that they have the beginnings of Alzheimer?s disease.'

He cited a 66-year-old man, for instance, who complained it took him 10 minutes to find his parked car and had also forgotten his brother?s birthday.

'Should your memory be going out on you at that age?' Abeles asked rhetorically. 'Well, it depends. What about his general health? What medications is he taking? Are there any indications of depression? Is there some mild cognitive impairment or is he functioning within the range of age-consistent memory decline? Even with respect to age, you need to consider when one is young-old, old, or among the oldest old. These are complex issues.'

A key factor, he said, is knowing the subject?s emotional state.

'Everyone knows there is a relationship between memory loss and depression,' he said. 'We have found that even a little bit of depression will correlate with a memory complaint.'

But, he noted, in his research project many people say they?re not really depressed, just worried. Worry, though, has been called the cognitive portion of anxiety, he said. He cited a recent study that showed only 5 percent of adults 65 and older met the criteria for anxiety disorder. Yet 17 percent of the men and 21 percent of the women said they suffered the kind of anxiety symptoms that don?t quite meet the criteria of specific syndromes.

'In memory decline, as one ages there are wide individual differences,' he said. This launched him into another favorite topic: his argument that older people need to undergo regular mood and memory checkups.

'People say there is no reason to have them,' he said. 'After all, they say, ?It?s so common to have memory problems and it?s not that severe anyway.? And then I tell people, ?Well, have you had your eyes checked lately? Why don?t you wait to check your eyes and hearing until they?re almost gone, because it?s not so bad. It?s probably not going to bother you too much.?' And that, he said with a smile, usually changes people?s minds.

?P. McGuire