Research

As scientist-practitioners, our research advances evidence-based clinical neuropsychology while contributing to the broader field of cognitive neuroscience. We focus on understanding cognition in neurological conditions, with central themes that include:

Cognition in Parkinson’s disease, focusing on progression and outcomes of deep brain stimulation (DBS).

Cognition in epilepsy, with emphasis on memory, language, and surgical outcomes.

The role of the hippocampus and basal forebrain in cognition, studied in both patient and healthy populations.

Interprofessional collaborations to integrate cognition into treatment outcomes and medical innovations.

Together, this work reflects our commitment to linking research and clinical practice — cognition from research to clinic and back.

Parkinson's Disease

Team Leads: Melanie Cohn, Rachel Leung, and Marta Statucka

Cognitive decline is common but highly variable in Parkinson’s disease, as well as following neurosurgical treatments such as deep brain stimulation (DBS). Our research seeks to characterize this heterogeneity and to identify individuals who may be especially vulnerable. We aim to refine neuropsychological assessments and improve the prediction of outcomes by developing new measures, investigating cognitive dysfunction beyond the classic dopamine-related framework, and accounting for diversity factors. In parallel, we study protective factors that contribute to quality of life and positive outcomes as experienced by patients and care partners.
Recent and ongoing projects:

Examining the neural substrates of episodic memory difficulties and developing new measures to improve the prediction of cognitive outcomes.
Examining cultural and sex-related differences in neuropsychological assessments.
Building predictive models of cognitive outcome that integrate clinical and diversity factors.
Exploring links between cognitive decline, psychosis, and cholinergic basal forebrain degeneration.
Studying protective factors such as social support and their relationship to perceived outcomes and quality of life.

We also collaborate with colleagues in neurology, neurosurgery, and other medical specialties on projects investigating the role of the basal ganglia in cognition and the cognitive effects of novel neuromodulation therapies.

Epilepsy

Team Leads: Devon Andersen, David Gold and Mary Pat McAndrews

Individuals with temporal-lobe epilepsy often experience impairments in memory and language. Surgery for medication-refractory epilepsy can improve seizure control but may exacerbate existing deficits or cause new ones. Traditional neuropsychology in epilepsy has focused on standardized tests and specific neural substrates such as the hippocampus or anterior temporal neocortex. Our approach leverages novel paradigms from cognitive neuroscience — particularly imaging of brain networks — to gain deeper insight into these deficits and individual differences in treatment outcomes.

Recent and ongoing projects:

Assessing naturalistic memory (e.g., movies, personal life events), to gain a more robust understanding of how brain networks altered by epilepsy may impact ‘real-world’ memory abilities beyond what is typically seen in the clinic. .
Identifying neural substrates of accelerated long-term forgetting, including disrupted hippocampal–neocortical interaction and impaired sleep-related consolidation.
Understanding brain networks supporting semantic memory (retrieval of word meanings and general world knowledge) that are impacted by temporal lobe epilepsy.
Examining cognitive resilience to surgery based on features of non-resected components of language and memory network.

We are also developing interventions to support memory and well-being in people living with epilepsy.

Cognitive Neuroscience of Hippocampal and Basal Forebrain Functions

Team leads: Melanie Cohn and Mary Pat McAndrews

The hippocampus, cholinergic basal forebrain, and related brain networks are critical to episodic memory and other cognitive functions, but their specific roles remain to be elucidated. We consider the soundest evidence to reflect convergence of patient or lesion studies and neuroimaging studies in young and older healthy individuals.

Recent and ongoing projects:

Demonstrating that the different contributions of anterior and posterior hippocampus to memory depend on tasks, hemispheres, and connectivity patterns.

Investigating the involvement of the hippocampal network in other aspects of cognition, such as social cognition and pain perception.

Investigating whether hippocampal hyperexcitability represents a biomarker and potential therapeutic target in individuals at risk for Alzheimer’s Disease.

Disentangling hippocampal and frontal contribution to episodic memory.

Examining how the cholinergic basal forebrain contributes to age-related changes in episodic memory processes (e.g., pattern separation and completion).

Interprofessional Collaborations

Cognition intersects with many areas of medical research, and we collaborate closely with Neurology, Neurosurgery, Neurophysiology, Neuroradiology, and Neuropsychiatry. Our contributions include designing and adapting cognitive tasks for participant selection and outcome measurement in clinical trials, selecting functional neuroimaging paradigms, and examining cognitive correlates of emerging brain imaging biomarkers. These collaborations extend to diverse clinical populations, including vascular disorders and depression. In parallel, we partner with colleagues in cognitive neuroscience to pursue fundamental research, advancing broader knowledge of brain–cognition relationships. Through these efforts, we enhance the precision and inclusivity of clinical neuropsychology while contributing to a deeper understanding of how the brain supports cognition.