Translational neuroscience of episodic memory function in aging and disease

Translational neuroscience of episodic memory function in aging and disease

Presented by Dr Arnold Bakker

Overview

The medial temporal lobe and specifically the hippocampus is critically important for memory and memory impairment. Our studies have focused not only on the role of the hippocampus, but particularly the discreet role of the hippocampal subregions in our ability to recall facts and events. The memory task used in these studies was based on the proposed role of hippocampal subregions.

This talk aims to discuss a series of studies using these methods showing alterations in hippocampal subregion specific functions in cognitively normal elderly compared to young adults, and an even greater change in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment compared to age-matched controls. These studies additionally showed increased hippocampal activation localized to the DG/CA3 subregion of the hippocampus in these patients compared to healthy control participants. This hippocampal over activation has been recognized as a characteristic feature of the MCI phase of Alzheimer’s disease and a target for the development of new therapeutic interventions.

About Dr Bakker

Dr. Bakker graduated from Tilburg University in the Netherlands where he completed a Master’s degree in clinical neuropsychology. After completing an internship in medical psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins, he continued his graduate work in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. After completing his doctorate in cognitive psychology he returned to the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, where he was appointed as a faculty member in the Division of Psychiatric Neuroimaging with joint appointments in Neurology, Psychological and Brain Sciences and the School of Public Health’s Department of Mental Health. Dr. Bakker serves as the director of the Neuroimaging Program in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Memory in Aging and Disease Laboratory.

Dr. Bakker’s research and teaching activities focus on the cognitive neuroscience of human memory. He studies the neural mechanisms underlying both normal memory function and impaired memory function in aging and disease using neuropsychological assessment, experimental behavioral assessment and particularly advanced neuroimaging methods. Dr. Bakker has extensive experience designing and conducting neuroimaging studies, including the use of neuroimaging as an outcome measure in intervention studies such as clinical trials. Dr. Bakker is a project leader in the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s disease Research Center and a co-investigator in the multi-site HOPE4MCI clinical trial in Alzheimer’s disease.