Research in the Bakker Memory Laboratory is focused on understanding the mechanisms and brain networks underlying human cognition with a specific focus on the mechanisms underlying learning and memory and the changes in memory that occur with aging and disease. We use a variety of techniques including neuropsychological assessments, experimental behavioral assessments and particularly advanced neuroimaging methods to study these questions in young and older adults and patients with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.

Through our collaborations with investigators in both basic science and clinical departments, including the departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Neurology and Public Health, our research also focuses on brain systems involved in spatial navigation and decision-making as well as cognitive impairment in neuropsychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, depression and anxiety.

For a detailed description of all the research projects in our laboratory, see our current ongoing projections and research .

Lab News!

  • 03/03/20 - Congratulations Kylie!

    Kylie Alm received a 2020 International Research Grant from the Alzheimer's Association providing 3 years of support for her work on longitudinal changes in connectivity profiles across the Alzheimer's disease spectrum. See announcement here. Congratulations Kylie!
  • 03/04/20 - Our work at AAIC

    Come see our work! We will be presenting our work at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Amsterdam July 26-30.
  • 03/01/20 - New Paper Out!

    Read about our latest work in Kylie's paper on individual differences in cognitively normal older adults.
  • 11/15/16 - Congratulations to Annie!

    Annie just received the Provost Undergraduate Research Award for her independent research proposal!
  • 04/25/16 - Congratulations to Arunima!

    Arunima received a 2016 Kaiser Permanente Scholarship award!
  • 11/16/15 - Interview in Arts & Sciences Magazine

    Dr. Arnold Bakker and colleagues, Drs. Michela Gallagher and Marilyn Albert, were interviewed for their work on the current Phase 3 clinical trial to slow down memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease. Read the excerpt here.