|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Biosketch: Tamara Hershey, Ph.D. Blue Pages (restricted access)
|
I am a neuropsychologist interested in the neural underpinnings of cognitive dysfunction in several diseases relevant to dopamine and/or development.
Cognitive dysfunction in diseases relevant to dopamine, such as Parkinson’s disease, Tourette's Syndrome, attention deficit disorders, or schizophrenia, can be limiting and disabling.
Currently, when deficits in cognitive skills such as working memory are seen in these patient populations, it is speculated that the impairments are due to “dysfunction of the dopaminergic pathways”.
Using a combination of functional neuroimaging, pharmacological and cognitive techniques, we are trying to differentiate the effects of these very different disease processes on dopaminergic and cognitive systems.
Currently, functional neuroimaging (PET and fMRI) and neuropsychological studies are being performed on patients with Parkinson’s disease under a variety of treatment conditions (including subthalamic stimulation) and on individuals with Tourette's Syndrome. In another line of research, we are examining the impact of type I diabetes on children’s cognitive skills, particularly memory. Using neuropsychological and neuroimaging methods, we are studying how memory function and its neural underpinnings are affected by severe hypoglycemia, and how this relationship is altered across development. This research has significant implications for the treatment of type I diabetes in children and can potentially contribute to our understanding of how metabolic insults to the developing brain affect the hippocampus, memory and executive skills. |
|||||||
|
Click on a topic to learn more details about research in these areas:
p |
This page maintained by Dana Perantie (DanaP@npg.wustl.edu)
