Seeking Research Participants

Primary Investigator: Alice Cronin-Golomb, Ph.D., Director of the Vision & Cognition Laboratory, Boston University
Participant Coordinator: Tom Laudate, MA. (617) 353-6476; tlaudate@bu.edu
Research Associate: Denise A. Valenti, OD. (617) 358-3047; dvalenti@bu.edu

Project Summary:
Identification of factors that keep individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) from functioning at an optimal level in their daily lives is of singular importance. Most aspects of visual cognition and memory are impaired in AD, including the abilities to recognize and discriminate objects, faces, words, and other patterns. Recent research indicates that deficits in basic vision are prevalent in this disorder and can strongly predict impairments in visual cognition, suggesting that basic vision may be a logical point of non-pharmacological intervention for improving cognition in AD. Our specific aims include manipulating vision test variables and determining which manipulations most improve performance on tests of targeted cognitive capacities. This begins to address the long-term goal of enhancing cognition in AD through the development of interventions aimed at restoring deficient visual capacities. The Vision and Cognition Laboratory has the capacity to provide the testing on site or in our laboratory.

In addition to testing the impact of manipulations on test performance, this project will investigate the correlations of loss in visual function to measurements of structural loss. Functional measurements of peripheral vision are taken with Frequency Doubling Technology (FDT) which is a portable instrument allowing for testing at any site. The instrument utilized to take images of retinal structures is an Optical Coherence Tomographer (OCT). An OCT takes an optical image of the retina and optic nerve through a dilated pupil and is not portable. Participants interested in this portion of the project are usually brought by family members to the laboratory for testing. Both the FDT and the OCT are extensively used in clinical practice for diagnosis and management of glaucoma.

We predict that manipulations of stimulus contrast, luminance, and duration will result in improvement or even normalization of performance of demented patients on several tests of visual cognition, including letter and word reading, face discrimination and recognition, object naming, and complex pattern completion. For motion perception, we are examining the role of the direction of attention and prior adaptation to several types of motion signals. Results may suggest the dynamic cognitive capacities that might be amenable to improvement through manipulation of these motion perception variables. By bridging the findings of clinical deficits to innovative and effective intervention strategies, the project will provide new insights into improving cognition and hence the quality of life of normal elderly adults and especially of individuals with AD and dementia of other etiologies.—June Kinoshita.