New research on better dementia diagnosis

Compelling new findings out of the department of psychology Bioimaging Research Center:

According to recently published research from the University of Georgia's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of psychology, scientists may be one step closer to a better biomarker for earlier detection of mild cognitive impairment, the leading predictor of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in older adults.

Psychology professor and Bio-Imaging Research Center director Stephen Miller, along with former graduate student Carlos Faraco, used fMRI brain scans-scans that give researchers not only a visual picture of the structure of the brain but also information about blood flow within the brain-to test the working memory of adults with normal healthy adult brains against those showing signs of mild cognitive impairment. The research was recently published in the journal Neuropsychologia.

While researchers have looked at stored memory in terms of mild cognitive impairment and dementia research, working memory is a relatively new area of research in the fMRI research realm.

Initial results from the study show hyperactivity in the lateral temporal lobes, the area of the brain associated with working memory. Hyperactivity here means that the brain is exerting more energy to complete a task, which may be a biomarker for developing dementia.

"Broadly, we're interested in finding more ways to identify people at risk for developing dementia," said Miller. "So, one of the ways that's been developed over the last few years is identifying a group of individuals who seem to be at higher risk for developing dementia based on early, relatively subtle signs of cognitive difficulties."

As technology allows, and we're seeing this more and more, research scientists are better able to zero in on how diseases and impairments in the human body function and thereby develop better treatments. As intiutitive as this evolution may sound, its reality still hinges on determined researchers like Miller who can follow instinctive leads and make the most of technological innovations. This is the blend of learning and research environments at its finest, working to improve human health.