Meet the people who make up STEM Faculty.
Translational Neuroscience Research Group – Closing the Gap
The conversion of promising findings from the research laboratory into effective clinical treatments for neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric illnesses is very challenging. One element of the process that can be improved is the capability to readily translate between the assessments used to evaluate the effects of a potential therapeutic intervention on cognitive processes in model systems and those used in patients.
Recent developments in touchscreen computing have enabled the generation of a new approach to cognitive assessment based on the presentation of and interaction with sequences of visual stimuli that can be readily administered across model systems and clinical populations.
A major objective of the laboratory is the application of this approach to various models of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric illness and corresponding clinical populations to provide a consistent platform for model validation and novel therapeutic screening. The group is also working to develop, optimise and validate new touchscreen-based assessments to enable the study of additional cognitive domains with a focus on motivation, cost-benefit decision making and emotional state regulation. Another goal is to apply the technical and procedural advantages of this methodology to non-disease related areas, including routine welfare monitoring and circadian rhythm biology.
Current research in the group includes:
OU Collaborators:
Laura Lopez-Cruz, School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences
International Collaborators:
Tim Bussey and Lisa Saksida, University of Western Ontario, Canada
Eosu Kim, Yonsei University, Korea
