Parkinson's disease (PD) affects more than 1.5 million people in the United States alone;its prevalence increases with age, and the majority of the diagnoses occur over age 60. While PD is primarily associated with motor symptoms such as resting tremor and rigidity, it is also associated with debilitating cognitive symptoms. The uniqueness of this application is the candidate's focus on the role of white matter integrity on cognitive function in PD. Little is known about white matter and cognition in PD despite growing research suggesting pathological changes in the white matter may contribute to the degenerative disease. The career development plan consists of two core training objectives: 1) specialty training on the cognitive-behavioral patterns and theories of PD, 2) focused training on Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) methods. Supplementary training in biostatistics, research ethics and grant writing is included. The candidate's long-term career goals are to apply these skills towards longitudinal investigations examining the predictive value of white versus gray matter on cognitive decline (dementia) in PD and cognitive outcome following PD specific medical interventions (i.e., deep brain stimulation). These research interests are strongly supported by the candidate's primary college, The University of Florida's College of Public Health and Health Professions, as well as the College of Medicine where she has an adjunct appointment. The candidate will carry out her research with the co-mentorship of Professors Dawn Bowers, Ph.D. (Neuropsychology, UF), Thomas Mareci, Ph.D. (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UF), Glen Stebbins, Ph.D. (Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University), and an advisory panel of Professors in the Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience and Biostatistics. The research will determine 1) the contribution of white matter integrity on the processing speed and working memory deficits of idiopathic PD (n=45) relative to that of an age and education matched control group (n=45), and 2) the predictive role of white matter on cognitive change after one year. Methods include a baseline MRI and cognitive assessment with a repeat cognitive assessment in one year. Relevance to Public Health: This project will contribute much needed knowledge about the role of white matter integrity on cognitive function in PD. The information will contribute to our ability to predict cognitive change in PD thereby improving treatment decisions and intervention options for PD.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Project #
3K23NS060660-02S1
Application #
7848672
Study Section
NST-2 Subcommittee (NST)
Program Officer
Sieber, Beth-Anne
Project Start
2007-09-30
Project End
2009-10-31
Budget Start
2009-07-20
Budget End
2009-10-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$10,869
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Florida
Department
Other Health Professions
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
969663814
City
Gainesville
State
FL
Country
United States
Zip Code
32611
Crowley, Samuel; Huang, Haiqing; Tanner, Jared et al. (2018) Considering total intracranial volume and other nuisance variables in brain voxel based morphometry in idiopathic PD. Brain Imaging Behav 12:1-12
Crowley, Samuel J; Tanner, Jared J; Ramon, Daniel et al. (2018) Reliability and Utility of Manual and Automated Estimates of Total Intracranial Volume. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 24:206-211
Jones, Jacob D; Tanner, Jared J; Okun, Michael et al. (2017) Are Parkinson's Patients More Vulnerable to the Effects of Cardiovascular Risk: A Neuroimaging and Neuropsychological Study. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 23:322-331
Tanner, Jared J; Levy, Shellie-Anne; Schwab, Nadine A et al. (2017) Marked brain asymmetry with intact cognitive functioning in idiopathic Parkinson's disease: a longitudinal analysis. Clin Neuropsychol 31:654-675
Colon-Perez, L M; Triplett, W; Bohsali, A et al. (2016) A majority rule approach for region-of-interest-guided streamline fiber tractography. Brain Imaging Behav 10:1137-1147
Sisco, Shannon M; Slonena, Elizabeth; Okun, Michael S et al. (2016) Parkinson's disease and the Stroop color word test: processing speed and interference algorithms. Clin Neuropsychol 30:1104-17
Price, Catherine C; Tanner, Jared; Nguyen, Peter T et al. (2016) Gray and White Matter Contributions to Cognitive Frontostriatal Deficits in Non-Demented Parkinson's Disease. PLoS One 11:e0147332
Kuhn, T; Gullett, J M; Nguyen, P et al. (2016) Test-retest reliability of high angular resolution diffusion imaging acquisition within medial temporal lobe connections assessed via tract based spatial statistics, probabilistic tractography and a novel graph theory metric. Brain Imaging Behav 10:533-47
Souillard-Mandar, William; Davis, Randall; Rudin, Cynthia et al. (2016) Learning Classification Models of Cognitive Conditions from Subtle Behaviors in the Digital Clock Drawing Test. Mach Learn 102:393-441
Tanner, J J; Mellott, E; Dunne, E M et al. (2015) Integrating Neuropsychology and Brain Imaging for a Referral of Possible Pseudodementia: A Case Report. Clin Neuropsychol 29:272-92

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