Dementia & Neuro Mental Health Research Unit

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Email: mhicare@uq.edu.au

Phone: 07 3346 5577

This project aims to advance knowledge in the phenomelogy of anxiety, develop a new inventory to evaluate Parkinson’s disease specific anxiety, and maximise treatment of anxiety for persons living with Parkinson’s disease.

Prevalence and characteristics of anxiety in Parkinson’s disease

This cohort study examines the prevalence and characteristics of anxiety in Parkinson’s disease to identify subtypes, and the relationship between anxiety and cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease. The study further examines the atypical forms of anxiety in Parkinson’s disease in collaboration with an international team  from USA, France and Netherlands.

Parkinson’s disease specific anxiety inventory (PDSAI)

Patients with Parkinson’s disease can experience anxiety specifically related to the disease. Such disease specific anxiety can be related to motor and non-motor symptoms as well as complications of Parkinson’s disease medication such as dyskinesias or on/off effects. Our research has published disease specific anxiety symptoms. The newly developed Parkinson’s diseases Specific Anxiety Inventory (PDSAI) is currently undergoing validation studies in Australia, USA and France.

Email: pd.research@uq.edu.au

Phone: 07 3346 5577

We have developed interventions including virtual reality, wireless head mounted displays, telehealth video conferencing to deliver psychotherapy, and wearable devices (smart watches) for biofeedback. Testing of new psychotherapeutic packages in clinical trials are currently underway. Our studies include older persons with varying degrees of cognitive impairment, Parkinson’s disease patients and people living in residential aged care facilities.

Virtual reality assisted anxiety treatment for Parkinson’s disease and dementia (VRAPD)

There is a high prevalence on anxiety in persons with progressive neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and dementia. This program of research aims to develop a number of technology assisted and manualised psychotherapeutic packages to effectively treat anxiety in such vulnerable groups. 

Media

Virtual reality frees the mind

This program of research aims to identifying underpinning neural mechanisms and develop novel emotional paradigms to identify markers to guide the response to therapeutic interventions. We use various neuroimaging methodology such as EEG, and fMRI. Our studies also focus on understanding the link between emotional and cognitive processing. Persons with anxiety and depression are at risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease later in life. Our studies examine the neurobiology of anxiety and depression that increase vulnerability to neurodegeneration.

Example paradigms designed and tested by our group:

Affective priming

Figure (adapted from Dissanayaka et al. Neuropsychology 2017, Vol 31, No. 6, 585-595):  Automatic affective priming task design. Prime–target word pairs were presented congruently (negative–negative or neutral–neutral) or incongruently (negative–neutral or neutral–negative) at a stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of 250 ms. Participants were asked to evaluate the valence of the target word with a button press while ERPs were recorded simultaneously.

Email: pd.research@uq.edu.au

Phone: 07 3346 5577

Using structural and functional imaging, our studies focus on identifying brain networks associated with various cognitive processes. We conduct resting state and task dependent fMRI studies. Our goal is to establish markers for early detection of dementia and to assist with discovery of therapeutics. Our studies target the discovery of impaired neural networks at early stages, and include persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), who are at risk of developing dementia.

Resting state functional networks

Attentional network

Attention Network Test (ANT) is employed to identify impaired attentional networks in persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Parkinson’s disease. The study focuses on three types of attention: (i) alerting (ii) orienting, and (iii) executive, and maps neural networks altered in MCI.

Semantic processors

Semantic fluency and phonemic fluency paradigms are employed to investigate impaired networks at early stages for cognitive impairment.  

Memory and hippocampal subregions      

Episodic memory impairment is examined in Parkinson’s disease patients using a specialised paradigm to identify hippocampal subregions.

Email: pd.research@uq.edu.au

We use established cognitive and emotional paradigms to maximise treatment for anxiety and cognitive impairment.

Imaging and anxiety treatment

Precision medicine targeted framework is used to maximise anxiety treatment outcomes for older persons and those with neurodegenerative disease. Established anxiety paradigms guided with neuroimaging and biofeedback are used to identify potential responders and non-responders for person centred targeted psychotherapy interventions in clinical trials.

Email: pd.research@uq.edu.au

Phone: 07 3346 5577

Repurposed drug trial for memory impairment

Guided by the hippocampal subregion activation observed in fMRI neuroimaging, this study trials repurposed drugs to reduce memory impairment. First trial will be conducted in persons with Parkinson’s disease.

Email: pd.research@uq.edu.au

Phone: 07 33465577

This study aims to identify the neural substrates of cognitive-linguistic impairments in Parkinson’s disease by utilizing EEG.

Chief investigators: Dr Anthony Angwin, Associate Professor David Copland, Dr Katie McMahon, Dr Nadeeka Dissanayaka, Professor Peter Silburn

This study investigates the learning and language processing in Parkinson’s disease patients who have had deep brain stimulation (DBS) functional neurosurgical treatment.

Chief investigators: Dr Anthony Angwin, Professor Peter Silburn, Associate Professor David Copland, Dr Nadeeka Dissanayaka

This study aims to define the phenotype of anxiety and depression in Parkinson’s disease. It also Investigates early markers for anxiety in Parkinson’s disease using psychological (affective priming) paradigms, imaging (electroencephalography, EEG) and saliva biomarkers (cortisol).

Chief investigators: Dr Nadeeka Dissanayaka, Associate Professor David Copland, Professor Peter Silburn, Associate Professor John O’Sullivan,  Professor Gerard Byrne, Prof Nancy Pachana, Dr Rodney Marsh, Professor George Mellick

This projects aims to identify emotional inhibition in Parkinson’s disease patients with and without affective disturbances using psychological paradigms coupled with EEG.

Chief investigators: Dr Nadeeka Dissanayaka, Associate Professor David Copland, Dr Anthony Angwin, David Hennessy (Masters in Clinical Psychology student), Associate Professor John O’Sullivan

This qualitative study aims to identify the phenomenology of DRT-induced impulse control disorders, patients’ understanding of their condition and their ability to control their behaviours, and patients’ moral identity and beliefs about their personal responsibility.

Chief investigators: Dr Adrian Carter, Dr Nadeeka Dissanayaka, Professor Wayne Hall, Associate Professor John O’Sullivan

This project aims to design and implement cognitive behavioral therapy for Parkinson’s disease patients. A Waitlist controlled RCT was commenced in 2016.

Chief investigators: Dr Nadeeka Dissanayaka, Professor Nancy Pachana, Dr Leander Mitchell, Professor Gerard Byrne, Associate Professor John O'Sullivan, Dr Rodney Marsh

This project investigates the benefits of mindfulness group therapy to alleviate depression, anxiety, cognitive dysfunction and parkinsonism symptoms in Parkinson’s disease.

Chief investigators: Dr Nadeeka Dissanayaka, Dr Paul Harnett, Professor Nancy Pachana, Farah Idu Jion (Doctorate in Clinical and Clinical Neuropsychology student), Associate Professor John O’Sullivan, Dr Rodney Marsh, Professor Gerard Byrne

This project investigates sleep disturbances in people with Parkinson’s disease and their carers living in rural areas. The impact of sleep problems on patitent-carer dyadic relationship is also investigated.

Chief investigators: Dr Nadeeka Dissanayaka, Prof Nancy Pachana, Rachael Wade (Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology Student)

Identification, diagnosis and the impact on wellbeing through an e-health initiative for personal carers.

Chief investigators: Dr Nadeeka Dissanayaka, Prof Gerard Byrne, Prof Judy Wollin, Rachel Brimelow (PhD student)

This project investigate improved methods to identify dopaminergic medication induced behavioural addictions (e.g. impulse control disorders) in Parkinson’s disease.

Chief investigators: Dr Nadeeka Dissanayaka, Dr Adrian Carter (Monash University), Andrew Dawson (PhD student- Monash University),  A/Prof John O’Sullivan, Prof Murat Yucel (Monash University), Prof Andrew Evans (University of Melbourne)

This fMRI study examines impairments in attention and language networks associated with mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease.

Chief investigators: Dr Nadeeka Dissanayaka, Prof Gerard Byrne, Prof David Copland, A/Prof Katie McMahon, A/Prof John O’Sullivan, Ji Hyun (Julia) Yang (PhD student) 

Chief investigators: Dr Nadeeka Dissanayaka, A/Prof Udantha Abeyratne, Dr Karen McCloy (PhD student)