Interhemispheric processing in Alzheimer's Disease
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Interhemispheric processing in Alzheimer's Disease
IRAS ID
151621
Contact name
Jean-Francois Delvenne
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Research summary
Alzheimer’s disease is one of the pressing concerns of our time. The syndrome is known to be characterised by cerebral anomalies found in the hippocampus and associate cortical areas, which result in memory and high-level cognitive deficits. However, another major brain structure, the corpus callosum, has also been found to be particularly susceptible to atrophy in Alzheimer’s disease and in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) patients. The corpus callosum is the largest white matter structure that connects the two hemispheres and allows the exchange of information between them. What we do not know is whether the atrophy of the corpus callosum has an impact on cognitive processes and whether this can be detected at the early stages of the disease. We are being funded by Alzheimer Research UK to obtain objective measures pertaining to the functional integrity of the corpus callosum in Alzheimer’s disease. We will measure the speed of the interhemispheric transfer by recording the brains electrical activity during simple lateralised visual presentations in MCI patients. We predict that the interhemispheric transfer time will be significantly longer in MCI patients when compared to healthy age-matched controls. Our findings may lead to the development of new tests of interhemispheric processing that could be used by doctors for more accurate diagnosis of the disease.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NW/1030
Date of REC Opinion
25 Nov 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion