The aim of this research proposal is to explore memory systems in HIV. In the last decade, importantadvances have been made in the domain of HIV and cognition, and research has focused mainly on injury tothe basal ganglia and associated fronto-striatal systems. However, little is understood about the effects ofthe virus on other brain systems, especially those that when disrupted, often result in dementia. Theproposed study has two specific aims. First, functional MRI will be employed to examine the functionalintegrity of hippocampal-prefrontal networks in the illness. Second, volumetric analysis of the hippocampuswill be conducted using structural MRI methodology. This proposed multi-dimensional study representsthefirst formal investigation of hippocampal-prefrontal networks in HIV, and will therefore extend clinicalunderstanding of the structural and functional changes that occur in the context of HIV infection.
| Melrose, Rebecca J; Tinaz, Sule; Castelo, J Mimi Boer et al. (2008) Compromised fronto-striatal functioning in HIV: an fMRI investigation of semantic event sequencing. Behav Brain Res 188:337-47 |
| Castelo, J Mimi Boer; Courtney, Maureen G; Melrose, Rebecca J et al. (2007) Putamen hypertrophy in nondemented patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection and cognitive compromise. Arch Neurol 64:1275-80 |
| Castelo, J M B; Sherman, S J; Courtney, M G et al. (2006) Altered hippocampal-prefrontal activation in HIV patients during episodic memory encoding. Neurology 66:1688-95 |
