Cognition in Parkinson's Disease

Dr. Nandakumar Narayanan is Associate Professor & Associate Director of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa. The specific problem of his research is cognitive dysfunction in Parkinsons disease. His current research focuses on the influence of dopamine on prefrontal networks controlling cognitive behaviors such as timing and performance monitoring. His research combines ensemble recording from populations of neurons in awake, behaving animals with specific manipulations using techniques such as optogenetic stimulation, targeted pharmacology, or selective genetic disruption with RNA interference. HIs research hopes to identify new treatment strategies that can be translated to a clinical setting.

Roger L. Albin, MD, is a professor of neurology and co-director of the Movement Disorders Clinic in the Department of Neurology in the University of Michigan Medical School. In addition, he serves as chief of neuroscience research at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center.Dr. Albin joined the University of Michigan faculty in 1988 as an instructor in the Department of Neurology. He was promoted to assistant professor in 1989; associate professor in 1994; and achieved his current rank of full professor in 2000.After completing his undergraduate degree at Oberlin College in Ohio, Dr. Albin earned his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1982, and completed his residency at the University of Michigan in 1986. He also completed a movement disorders fellowship in 1988 under Drs. Anne Young and John Penney.His clinical and research interests include the underlying neurobiologic causes of the clinical features of movement disorders, basal ganglia structure and function, Parkinson's disease, Tourette syndrome, dementias, dystonias and Huntington's disease. His laboratory is pursuing work on basic mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Huntington disease using mouse genetic models. Dr. Albin also has participated in neuroprotective clinical trials for both Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease.The present focus of Dr. Albin's group is uncovering the basis for non-motor (sleep disorders, depression, dementia, autonomic dysfunction) problems in Parkinson's disease. He is very interested in applying positron emission tomography (PET) imaging methods to improve diagnosis of dementing disorders like Alzheimer's disease. The hope is that understanding how specific brain alterations cause specific clinical features will lead to improved treatments.Dr. Albin currently serves as a site investigator for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Exploratory Trials in Parkinson disease (NET-PD) initiative. His work is supported by grants from the NIH, the Michael J. Fox Foundation and the High Q Foundation.A member of the American Academy of Neurology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Neurologic Association, and the Society for Neuroscience, Dr. Albin currently serves on the editorial boards of Experimental Neurology, Neurology and Neurobiology of Disease.