Memory and motivation v1.0

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Memory and motivation in health and disease

• IRAS ID

  248379

• Contact name

  Masud Husain

• Contact email

  masud.husain@ndcn.ox.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Oxford, Clinical Trials and Research Governance

• Duration of Study in the UK

  4 years, 3 months, 29 days

• Research summary

  The aim of this research programme is to understand the brain mechanisms underlying loss of memory and motivation (apathy) across a range of brain disorders and in people at risk of developing neurodegenerative disorders (such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease).

  Loss of memory and apathy occur across a range of neurological diseases, so they cannot be explained simply on the basis of molecular changes in the brain.

  The approach proposed in this peer-reviewed, Wellcome Trust funded Principal Research Fellowship award is to examine network changes in the brain. We aim to:

  • Identify cognitive mechanisms underlying memory loss and apathy
  • Map these using brain scanning to brain networks across neurological diseases - to determine if there are common, critical networks
  • Establish whether it is possible to identify dysfunction of these cognitive mechanisms and brain networks in people at high risk of developing neurodegenerative conditions
  • Determine whether baseline cognitive and brain imaging can predict subsequent changes in memory and motivation

  This is a multi-group, longitudinal observational study. Participants will be invited to take part in neuropsychological tests and questionnaires, cognitive tests and structured interviews, and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) brain scanning.

  Our primary aim is to determine whether common cognitive mechanisms underlie memory loss and apathy across a range of disorders: Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson's disease, small vessel cerebrovascular disease, stroke and encephalitis; as well as in groups at high risk of developing Alzheimer's (people with mild cognitive impairment, subjective cognitive impairment and those who carry the ApoE4 gene) or Parkinson's disease (people with REM (rapid eye movement) behavioural sleep disorder).

  We will use computerised cognitive tests designed to assess short-term memory and motivation, questionnaires and structured interviews and MRI brain scanning in patients and healthy volunteers. This will improve our understanding of the brain circuits involved in memory and motivation to guide future network level treatments.

• REC name

  South Central - Oxford A Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  18/SC/0448

• Date of REC Opinion

  8 Oct 2018

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion