Aging is often associated with changes in memory and in some cases with significant impairments in memory function. Increasing numbers of older adults develop Alzheimer’s disease dementia resulting in a complete inability to remember people, places and events with devastating consequences for these patients and their families. However, the majority of older adults do not develop Alzheimer’s disease and some older adults experience no changes in their memory function with advancing age.

Using behavioral and high-resolution fMRI studies in patients and healthy older adults, our studies aim to understand age-related changes in memory function and the compounding effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

These studies have led us to the development of potential interventions designed to slow the onset of Alzheimer’s disease that are currently being tested through the HOPE4MCI clinical trial.

Our ability to learn and remember different types of information depends a broad network of brain regions that each support a different aspect of memory function but heavily interact and work together to support this fundamental aspect of human cognition. However, exactly what aspects of memory depend on which brain regions and how these networks interact, remains poorly understood.

Using behavioral experiments and functional neuroimaging methods during cognitive tasks and rest, we study how various networks in the brain interact and support memory for facts, events and places.

Many patients with Parkinson’s disease experience significant cognitive symptoms and those who do most often report problems with their memory. In addition, patients with Parkinson’s disease report significantly greater rates of anxiety affecting their learning, memory and decision making.

Our studies in this area employ behavioral experiments and multimodal neuroimaging approaches to focus on the role of memory impairment and anxiety on cognitive impairment and comorbidity in Parkinson’s disease.