UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS
Grant: $615,466 - National Institutes of Health - Jul. 25, 2009
No votes have been cast for this award yet
Join the conversation: Post a comment about this award
Award Description: Purpose: to examine deficits in planning movements, specifically task switching, due to Parkinson's disease (PD). Task switching is the ability to make a change in the plan (switching from one response option to another, e.g. pressing one button vs. another) that is a critical part of normal motor behavior which is intimately intertwined with the motor deficits associated with PD. Specifically our goals are 1) to determine the underlying neural substrates of switching deficits in PD; 2) to examine the contribution of cognitive factors, specifically switching, to parkinsonian deficits in activities of daily living, such as speech or gait initiation. We have designed a task that dissociates motor planning from execution. We will collect behavioral measures from this switching task and measure patterns of cortical activation and synchronization with functional magnetic resonance imaging and magnetoencephalograpy respectively, to obtain complimentary anatomic and physiologic views of the switching dysfunctions of PD. We will also perform neuropsychological testing of switching abilities and evaluate performance of activites of daily living. Expected outcomes: subjects with PD will show specific switching deficits that are correlated with abnormal brain activity. Deliverables include: a comparison of imaging data and behavioral measures of switching performance in control and PD subjects to identify the neural substrates of switching deficits in PD, and a correlation of functional and behavioral data with measures of activities of daily living such as speech and gait initiation to identify the contribution of motor planning deficits to the parkinsonian deterioration of performance of these activities.
Project Description: Our goals for the first quarter of the award were to prepare for data collection. We have: 1. Written and tested the stimulus delivery program. 2. Built and tested the first MR/MEG compatible force transducing button box for performance of the task in the scanner. Following testing in the MRI scanner, a second button box will be built for the MEG scanner (UCSF subaward).
Jobs Summary: Principal Investigator, (75% time), job retained. Supervised production of the task presentation program, assisting the programmer with stimulus production and randomization and on-line data analysis. Collaborated with production company to determine specifications of custom built MR/MEG compatible force transducing button box. Supervised the implementation and testing of the task software and button box in the scanner. Developed phone and clinic scripts for proper screening and recruitment of subjects and trained lab personnel in subject recruitment. Organize training of all new personnel in safety and protocol procedures. 2 Clinical Co-Investigators, (5% time each), job retained. Assist in the development of a simple and effective system for subject recruitment from their respective movement disorders clinics. Co-Investigator, (10% time), job retained. Design database for clinical data storage. Establish site for secure data storage and train students in the proper procedures for data storage. Assist with the development of phone and clinic scripts for proper screening and recruitment of subjects and training of lab personnel in subject recruitment. Research Assistant, (30% time), job created. Obtain all neurological and behavioral tests supplies including UPDRS, Hoehn and Yahr Rating Scale, MMSE, Beck Depression Scale, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Trails A and B, WAIS-III Digit Span, Modified Emory Functional Ambulation Profile (mEFAP). The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function Scale (D-KEFS) Verbal Fluency Test, Timed Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Tasks (TIADL tasks), Pegboard Dexterity Test and the PDQ39. Research Assistant, (100% time), job retained. Pilot both the task software and button box. Analyze preliminary data. Set up software and button box to run on the computers linked to the fMRI and MEG scanners and coordinate scanner triggering. 2 Graduate Students, (50% time each), jobs created. Learn to recruit and screen subjects and enter and properly store data, train in the safe a proper operation of the MRI machine, assist with implementation of task software and button box in the scanner and learn about pilot data collection and analysis. The UCSF subaward was established Sept. 22, 2009. To date no work has begun on the subaward. Contractual agreement for subawards between the primary institution and project consultants are in the process of being established through the institution?s Office of Contracts and Grants. (Total jobs reported: 1)
Project Status: Less Than 50% Completed
This award's data was last updated on Jul. 25, 2009. Help expand these official descriptions using the wiki below.
Funds from this award have been disbursed to sub-grantees. Click here to see a list of sub-grantees.
No comments have been added for this project.