Trosolwg

Why older individuals seem to be more susceptible to the cognitive and motivationally impairing effects of inflammation?

We know that in older adults, infection can lead to coginitive disturbance and when severe or chronic it can cause irreversible cognitive impairment and accelerate the progression of neurodegenerative diseases such Alzheimer's. However, little is understood about the mechanisms driving this susceptibility.

I aim to identify these mechanisms by using a combination of an experimental model of inflammation (Interferon-alfa) with a range of neuroimaging techniques (DCE, MR spectroscopy, rsfMRI and PET) to quantify how inflammation affects human brain function at the level of: BBB function, microglia morphometry, neuronal function (dopamine turnover) and functional connectivity.