Understanding Brain-Behavior link: Using Structural (frontal asymmetry) and Neurochemical (neurotransmitters) Basis of Cognitive and Affective Processing to Improve Prediction of Health-related Outcomes in Epilepsy patients from low socio-economic.

Project description

Aims: To use structural and neurochemical basis of cognitive-affective process for improving predictions of post-surgery outcomes in epilepsy patients from low socioeconomic strata.

Methodology

Sample:
Study 1 (Baseline):Forty patients with epilepsy (lateralized damage: Right hemisphere: 20)
Study 2 (follow-up): Forty patients from Study 1 will have post-surgery assessment after 4 months.

Material:
Tasks: Mental State Exam, Frontal-lobe based task (Iowa Gambling Task & Wisconsin Task), affect stimuli from international affect database (pictures: IAPS & words: ANEW), and Autobiographical Episodic Memory(AET)
Tests: Saliva sample will be analysed for cortisol (stress), serotonin-dopamine balance, testosterone-estradiol balance Brain imaging: Functional Magnetic Resonance Image (fMRI: anatomical volumentric T1 scan) and PET-FDG will be used to assess frontal asymmetry
Procedure (study 1): Participant who meet the criterion will provide informed consent, demographic information, followed by salivary sample (T1), brain imaging session, salivary sample (T2), followed by cognitive tasks (Iowa Gambling Task, Wisconsin Task, Episodic autobiographical memory), salivary sample (T3), affect processing (counter balance order: pictures and words), salivary sample (T4). Participants will be tested individually.
Procedure (study 2): Follow-up study will be 4 months, implementing the protocol of the baseline assessment

Analysis:
Frontal asymmetry, neurochemical measures from salivary sample [cortisol (stress), serotonin-dopamine balance, testosterone-estradiol balance], and pre-surgery behavioural task performance will used to predict post-surgery outcomes (4 months) (i) mental health status, (ii) cognitive and affective functioning (iii) seizure occurrence

Outcomes

It is expected that structural and neurochemical assessment combined with frontal lobe task-based performance will improve prediction of surgery outcomes for epilepsy patients (e.g., seizure free status, alteration in cognitive and affective functioning). Improving predictions of surgery outcomes might be a necessity for all epileptic patients, but more prominently for the patients from low socioeconomic background whose economic investment in the treatment and subsequent economic decisions are more severely affected by outcomes of the surgery.

Essential capabilities

Neuropsychological assessment, Research Design and Statistical Analysis.

Desireable capabilities

Programming skill (e.g., Python, Open sesame).

Expected qualifications (Course/Degrees etc.)

MA or MSc in Psychology (specialization Clinical Psychology, Neuropsychology), Cognitive Science, Neuroscience.

Candidate Discipline

Neuropsychology (Focus: Clinical), Clinical Psychology, Neuroscience (Focus: Cognitive/behavioural), Rehabilitation (Focus: Neuropsychological).