Research using Cantab to be presented at the British Neuroscience Association’s Festival of Neuroscience which takes place in Edinburgh, 12-15 April, 2015.

The British Neuroscience Association’s Festival of Neuroscience will take place in Edinburgh, 12-15 April, 2015. There are four posters being presented which used Cantab cognitive assessments in their studies. Suvankar Pal and his team from the University of Edinburgh and the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic will be presenting 2 posters, showcasing their research using Cantab to assess patients with MS, as well as, investigating the use of cognitive testing in patients with different forms of dementia.

Day 2 – 1.15-2.45pm

P2-F-002: Nervous System Disorders

Investigating the utility of touchscreen cognitive testing in a regional cognitive disorders clinic.

Results: Touchscreen cognitive testing using Cantab neuropsychology tests detected deficits in multiple cognitive domains in patients presenting with all forms of dementia. Furthermore, comparison between groups demonstrates differences in the profiles of patients with AD compared to SMI. The battery was easy to administer, advantageous in patients with expressive speech disturbance but difficult for patients with visuospatial or motor impairment. Further studies with larger numbers of patients are required to investigate the utility in differentiation of AD and FTD.

Day 3 – 1.15-2.45pm

P3-D-001: Learning, Memory and Cognition

Investigating the spectrum of cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis using touchscreen cognitive testing.

Results: Results from this study confirm cognitive impairment is common in patients with MS. Furthermore, impairment occurs across a range of domains and correlates with severity of disease, although is independent of factors such as age, duration of disease, and type of MS. Routine cognitive assessment is recommended as part of holistic assessment in multiple sclerosis. Computerised testing provides a novel and efficient method for patient evaluation.

P3-D-015: Learning, Memory and Cognition

Post-traumatic amnesia: Disconnection between the medial temporal lobe and default mode network.

Results: The results suggest that functional disconnection between brain regions involved in memory processes, including nodes within the DMN, may underlie the profound cognitive impairments seen in PTA.

P3-D-054: Learning, Memory and Cognition

A novel touchscreen serial reversal task to study the neuropharmacology of visual reversal learning in rats: Effects of lateral orbitofrontal cortex manipulations and of systemic treatment with the dopamine D2/D3 agonist, quinpirole.

Results: The combination of high face- and construct validity suggests that this touchscreen-based experimental paradigm may be useful in exploring the neural circuitry and neuropharmacology of reversal learning, of relevance for psychiatric disorders and Parkinson’s disease.

Find out more on the posters in the festival abstract booklet.