De quoi consiste cette étude ?

Increasing evidence shows that listening to music from childhood and early adulthood can help recall meaningful events from the past. Importantly, people with dementia have shown to benefit from listening to personally meaningful music, suggesting that musical memory remains preserved. However, the underlying mechanisms by which music improves memory remains unclear.

My research addresses the impact of an autobiographically salient music listening program on memory and brain activity in mild cognitive impairment. Understanding how brainwave activity in this population may differ, will help elucidate mechanisms of music listening that lead to cognitive improvements, ultimately providing insight into musical memory preservation and how it can be leveraged.

Participants will undergo cognitive testing and measure brainwave activity via EEG, a non-invasive neuroimaging method. Participants will be provided an online link (or CD if they do not have wifi) to access their personalized music playlist and will be asked to listen for two weeks at home (20 mins/day, minimum 5 days/wk). Repeated cognitive and EEG assessment will help determine changes in brain function.

De quoi consiste cette étude ?

‘Bootle Blast’ combines therapy and video games. It has been used with children and youth with musculoskeletal disabilities in clinics and homes. Preliminary research supports Bootle Blast’s ability to engage players and support physical outcomes. Informal testing suggests it may also appeal to older adults. This study will test Bootle Blast’s feasibility with people with dementia. Pairs of people with dementia and their caregivers (n=10) will play Bootle Blast at home for 2 weeks. Data will include video recordings, surveys, balance tests, safety and adherence tracking, and interviews. This study aims to inform a more accessible version of Bootle Blast.

De quoi consiste cette étude ?

Seeking individuals with mild, early-stage dementia ages 65+ to explore how they access daily information like weather forecasts and newspapers. The study aims to improve information accessibility for the dementia community. Participation involves a 60-90 minute session (in-person or via Zoom with caregiver) observing information access behaviors. Findings will guide strategies for making information more comprehensible and accessible. Participants will receive $50 for their time. This study is approved by York University’s ethics committee (#2024-176). For details, contact Dr. Somang Nam at [email protected].

De quoi consiste cette étude ?

We are interested in how the brain changes in aging and with dementia. With this study, we will investigate how the brain senses and interprets sights and sounds. We are particularly interested in how listening to music, especially familiar music, evokes emotions and activates vivid memories. Learning how the brain processes music will help us understand why music therapy is such an effective tool for those with Alzheimer’s. We also aim to understand how the brain combines sights and sounds. This is an important part of how we navigate complex everyday situations, such as walking down a busy street. Alzheimer’s disease interferes with the brain’s ability to combine information from different senses, which could cause challenges in daily living.

De quoi consiste cette étude ?

This study will uncover how bilingualism supports healthy cognitive aging by examining the influence of different language experiences on the timing and location of brain network activity. We will examine the timing of brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG; i.e., recordings of electrical brain activity) and the location of brain activity using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; i.e., images of activity in different parts of the brain). Different language experience factors will additionally be explored. By measuring multiple factors (e.g., the age of second language learning, language proficiency) the effect(s) of different language experiences on the brain and cognition will become clearer.

De quoi consiste cette étude ?

CAN-PROTECT is a Canada-wide online study recruiting participants and caregivers of persons with dementia to explore how lifestyle, background, and caretaking factors affect our health, quality of life, cognition, behaviour, and function as we age. CAN-PROTECT data will be analyzed and jointly published by the University of Calgary in partnership with the University of Exeter.

De quoi consiste cette étude ?

Notre étude vise à développer des biomarqueurs diagnostiques non invasifs pour la maladie d'Alzheimer. Nous nous concentrons sur l'évaluation du potentiel de la QSM et de la FEO pour différencier la maladie d’Alzheimer, le trouble cognitif léger (MCI) et les populations sans trouble cognitif et pour prédire la pathologie amyloïde et tau, en utilisant une approche de biologie des systèmes. S'appuyant sur la cohorte TRIAD de l'Université McGill, l'étude utilise l'imagerie avancée et l'apprentissage automatique pour prédire la présence d'amyloïde et de tau, ce qui pourrait transformer le diagnostic et le traitement de la maladie d'Alzheimer. D'un point de vue méthodologique, il s'agit de prétraiter les données de neuro-imagerie et d'utiliser des classificateurs d'apprentissage automatique pour analyser ces caractéristiques. Les résultats attendus comprennent la validation de la QSM et de la FEO en tant que biomarqueurs non invasifs de la maladie d'Alzheimer, l'établissement de leur corrélation avec les protéines amyloïdes et tau, et le développement de modèles prédictifs pour la prise de décision clinique, ce qui pourrait entraîner des avancées significatives dans le diagnostic de la maladie d'Alzheimer.