Ageing and Dementia Research in Psychology
Learn more about our cutting-edge research, including how you can participate.
Our researchers
Alexa's research focuses on human memory and how it changes in normal ageing. Her group uses brain imaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI), electrophysiological event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioural methods. She is particularly interested in how memory for specific events - episodic memory- works, and how episodic memory and its brain substrates change during the adult lifespan.
Eleanor’s core research is on self-regulation, and how it interacts with emotional, physical and social functioning. She leads a workstream on the , aiming to find out more about the impact of emotion regulation on decision making and quality of life for people with dementia and their carers.
Claire’s research focuses on how the detrimental effects of carrying an APOE4 risk variant emerge across the lifespan; specifically, whether patterns of deviant brain activity contribute to very subtle changes in memory and executive function in this high-risk group. Drawing on the link between epilepsy and Alzheimer’s Disease, I am exploring whether pharmacologically modifying the brain activity of APOE e4 gene carriers can reduce their risk of future dementia.
Sarah’s research uses genetically altered mice to understand how different genes impact the brain and behaviour. Using mice carrying human versions of the APOE gene, we hope to tease out the neurobiological processes that put some people at a greater risk of dementia, and how we can reverse that risk.
Catherine’s research focused on the regulation of the brain's energy supply (neurovascular coupling) and how it varies during different brain states, across different brain regions and at the onset of conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and obesity.
Darya’s research seeks to understand how common mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression can affect brain ageing. We want to understand what affects vulnerability, who seeks support, why people respond to treatments in different ways, and if treatments can improve ageing processes.
Chris’s research is on episodic memory – our memory for events – and the brain regions that support these different memory processes. His lab uses a mixture of behavioural studies, fMRI studies of healthy adults and neuropsychological studies of adults with memory problems caused by neurological damage (such as damage caused by Alzheimer’s disease).
Jenny’s research interest span 30 years of work exploring: the neurochemical bases of age- and dementia- related changes in memory and cognition; the impact and neural signature of APOE on memory and cognition across the lifespan; and the longitudinal study of memory decline and behavioural change in activities of daily living in people with dementia.
Our research interests
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Cognitive Ageing
As we get older, we all experience changes in our thinking abilities. We use neuropsychological models to design thinking tasks which allow us to explore how and why cognition changes with age.
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Think Brain Health
The Ageing & Dementia group prioritises research into how we can promote healthy brain ageing across the lifespan. As part of this, we study how our genes affects brain structure and function, our thinking abilities, and the impact of lifestyle and our physical health from early adulthood. Our methods include the design and administration of cognitive tasks, neuroimaging, psychopharmacology, genetics (including mouse models).
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Living well with Dementia
Researchers from the School of Psychology are co-investigators in two major longitudinal studies exploring what makes the most difference when it comes to living with dementia after a diagnosis. The , the largest study of living well with dementia in Great Britain, explores the experiences of people living with dementia and their carers. The explores the differences in the level and quality of care between individuals with dementia, studying why care is unequal and what this means for people’s quality of life.