There are many active research projects accessing and applying shared ADNI data. Use the search above to find specific research focuses on the active ADNI investigations. This information is requested annually as a requirement for data access.
| Principal Investigator | |
| Principal Investigator's Name: | Molly Mather |
| Institution: | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
| Department: | Psychological and Brain Sciences |
| Country: | |
| Proposed Analysis: | Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and are associated with poor outcomes, including increased caregiver burden and reduced patient quality of life. NPS in aMCI are also predictive of progression of cognitive deficits and conversion from aMCI to AD. Our research team recently collaborated on a position paper that outlined structural and functional biomarkers of emotion dysregulation in aMCI (e.g.., deficits in connectivity between frontal and limbic regions, structural atrophy in the amygdala). Both NPS and neural changes in emotion regulation centers have been associated with faster disease progression in aMCI and AD; however, the association between behavioral and neural measures of neuropsychiatric dysfunction is not yet established. Using longitudinal behavioral and imaging data, we plan to investigate the temporal association between disruption in neural regions/circuits known to support emotion function and change in NPS along the AD disease spectrum. We will determine if neural changes precede the onset or worsening of emotion dysfunction. We will also determine the relative predictive utility of neural and behavioral markers of neuropsychiatric dysfunction for disease progression. Attention to neuropsychiatric dysfunction, especially in the early stages of neurodegeneration, may improve our ability to predict progression of impairment or conversion from aMCI to AD. This line of work will also support development of behavioral or neural interventions to improve patient and caregiver quality of life via reducing neuropsychiatric burden. |
| Additional Investigators | |
| Investigator's Name: | Rebecca Ready |
| Proposed Analysis: | Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and are associated with poor outcomes, including increased caregiver burden and reduced patient quality of life. NPS in aMCI are also predictive of progression of cognitive deficits and conversion from aMCI to AD. Our research team recently collaborated on a position paper that outlined structural and functional biomarkers of emotion dysregulation in aMCI (e.g.., deficits in connectivity between frontal and limbic regions, structural atrophy in the amygdala). Both NPS and neural changes in emotion regulation centers have been associated with faster disease progression in aMCI and AD; however, the association between behavioral and neural measures of neuropsychiatric dysfunction is not yet established. Using longitudinal behavioral and imaging data, we plan to investigate the temporal association between disruption in neural regions/circuits known to support emotion function and change in NPS along the AD disease spectrum. We will determine if neural changes precede the onset or worsening of emotion dysfunction. We will also determine the relative predictive utility of neural and behavioral markers of neuropsychiatric dysfunction for disease progression. Attention to neuropsychiatric dysfunction, especially in the early stages of neurodegeneration, may improve our ability to predict progression of impairment or conversion from aMCI to AD. This line of work will also support development of behavioral or neural interventions to improve patient and caregiver quality of life via reducing neuropsychiatric burden. |
| Investigator's Name: | Bruna Martins |
| Proposed Analysis: | Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and are associated with poor outcomes, including increased caregiver burden and reduced patient quality of life. NPS in aMCI are also predictive of progression of cognitive deficits and conversion from aMCI to AD. Our research team recently collaborated on a position paper that outlined structural and functional biomarkers of emotion dysregulation in aMCI (e.g.., deficits in connectivity between frontal and limbic regions, structural atrophy in the amygdala). Both NPS and neural changes in emotion regulation centers have been associated with faster disease progression in aMCI and AD; however, the association between behavioral and neural measures of neuropsychiatric dysfunction is not yet established. Using longitudinal behavioral and imaging data, we plan to investigate the temporal association between disruption in neural regions/circuits known to support emotion function and change in NPS along the AD disease spectrum. We will determine if neural changes precede the onset or worsening of emotion dysfunction. We will also determine the relative predictive utility of neural and behavioral markers of neuropsychiatric dysfunction for disease progression. Attention to neuropsychiatric dysfunction, especially in the early stages of neurodegeneration, may improve our ability to predict progression of impairment or conversion from aMCI to AD. This line of work will also support development of behavioral or neural interventions to improve patient and caregiver quality of life via reducing neuropsychiatric burden. |
