Introduction

See the complete listing of our CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

Research at the Memory and Aging Center falls into two main categories:

1) Research oriented towards understanding or treating specific diseases

2) Research aimed at understanding how the brain accomplishes its various complex functions

In the case of disease-specific research, the purpose of some studies is to evaluate new treatments, while other studies improve our ability to make diagnoses with thorough history-taking and examination, brain imaging and sophisticated neuropsychological testing.

Our research on brain function is possible because different forms of neurodegenerative disease affect different parts of the brain, and thus cause different types of impairments in thinking and movement. By examining the impaired and preserved functions across various diseases, we can improve our understanding of how brain functions are organized. Brain imaging adds to these studies by allowing us to measure the degree of injury in various parts of the brain in each person. Although specific diseases are often noted for their effects in one area of function, we learn most about the brain's functions by comparing them across different diseases.

In order to take advantage of the most advanced methods available, much of this research is done in partnership with experts in related fields.

Click here to watch ABC7 News' "Understanding the Mysteries of Alzheimer's".