Auditory attention in the amnesia of Alzheimer's disease; and the response to a central cholinesterase inhibitor

阿尔茨海默病(AD)是痴呆症最常见的形式，通常与对最近信息和事件的记忆力低下有关。然而，在病程的早期，这种疾病会影响其他心理过程，这些都会导致记忆困难。因此，例如，当背景中有额外的对话时，记住一个人被说了什么，需要有能力专注于一个发言者，而不是被其他人分心。注意力依赖于一个专门的右脑系统，这个系统的功能可能会通过目前获得许可的修改AD症状的药物来改善。我的研究计划使用成像技术来研究AD对注意系统的功能和解剖完整性的影响，并将这些结果与年龄匹配的正常受试者的结果进行比较。然后，我将研究一种用于治疗AD的药物对成像指标的影响，并将这些与记忆和注意力的心理测试的任何变化联系起来。重要的是，我的研究将把成像测量中的自然可变性与药物影响的可变性区分开来。这项研究将进一步加深我们对阿尔茨海默病对高级脑功能的影响及其治疗的理解。

Alzheimer‘s disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, is typically associated with poor memory for recent information and events. However, early in its course the disease affects other mental processes, and these contribute to the difficulties with memory. Thus, for example, remembering what one has been told when there are additional conversations in the background requires the ability to pay attention to one speaker and not be distracted by the others. Attention depends on a specialised right brain system, one whose function may be improved by the current drugs licensed to modify the symptoms of AD. My study plans to use imaging techniques to study the effects of AD on the functional and anatomical integrity of the attention system, and compare these results with those from age-matched normal subjects. I will then study the effects of a drug used to treat AD on the imaging measures, and relate these to any changes in psychological tests of memory and attention. Importantly, my study will separate natural variability in imaging measures from those due to the influence of the drug. This study will further our understanding of the effects of AD on higher brain functions and their treatment.