Carolyn Fredericks, MD
Assistant Professor of NeurologyCards
About
Research
Overview
Specific projects we are currently pursuing include:
1) Using functional MRI and amyloid and tau PET to characterize how tau protein spreads in less common Alzheimer's variants such as posterior cortical atrophy and logopenic aphasia, and how tau spread relates to changes in functional network connectivity and how participants perform on neuropsychological tasks.
2) Using high-resolution structural and functional MRI to define the role of subcortical structures, such as certain brainstem and thalamic nuclei, in functional networks in Alzheimer's disease (including less common variants).
3) Developing paradigms that incorporate eye-tracking and functional MRI to understand how patients with posterior cortical atrophy process visual information.
Medical Research Interests
Clinical Care
Overview
Carolyn Fredericks, MD, is a neurologist who specializes in diagnosing and treating patients with cognitive and behavioral concerns, including Alzheimer’s disease, memory disorders, and frontotemporal disease. She also sees patients with rarer brain disorders, such as posterior cortical atrophy, logopenic progressive aphasia, corticobasal syndrome, and progressive supranuclear palsy.
At initial evaluation visits, Dr. Fredericks encourages patients to bring a loved one, friend, or caregiver who knows them very well. “Often, as you can imagine, the patient may not see the entire picture of what has been going on,” she says. During the first visit, Dr. Fredericks asks detailed questions around medical history and does cognitive testing to test memory, language, attention, and spatial functions. She also conducts a neurological exam that checks a range of abilities, including a patient’s motor system, reflexes, and coordination.
“I get a deep satisfaction from walking through the treatment process with a family, offering resources and medications that can help the patient feel better, even though it won’t make the illness go away,” Dr. Fredericks says. “Of course, I love it when I’m able to reverse a process for someone. Sometimes, we will learn that a patient’s thyroid is not working well or that they have an autoimmune condition we can treat. Those kinds of catches are amazing to be a part of.”
Dr. Fredericks dedicates time outside of treating patients to research focused on understanding what the brain looks like before symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease begin to appear by comparing them with the brains of people who are aging in a healthy way. She also investigates more rare forms of Alzheimer’s disease that affect primarily affect a person’s ability to use language and spatial perception. As a member of Yale’s Clinical Neuroscience Imaging Center, she uses advanced imaging tools to map out how proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease spread throughout functional networks in the brain.
“Dementia is never a normal part of aging,” Dr. Fredericks says. “This research will help us develop better treatment targets and earlier interventions for the future.”
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
Alzheimer's Disease
Learn More on Yale MedicineDementia
Learn More on Yale MedicinePsychological Assessment of Children
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Board Certifications
Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry
- Certification Organization
- United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties
- Original Certification Date
- 2018
Neurology
- Certification Organization
- AB of Psychiatry & Neurology
- Original Certification Date
- 2014
Yale Medicine News
News
News
- October 17, 2024Source: TIME
9 Things You Should Do for Your Brain Health Every Day, According to Neurologists
- January 31, 2024Source: Yale Medicine
How to Stay Connected with a Loved One With Alzheimer’s Disease
- June 01, 2023
Center for Brain and Mind Health First Annual Symposium
- March 22, 2023
There’s No Better Source than the Scientist