Robert Pietrzak, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Yale, and his colleagues affiliated with the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle Study are recipients of the 2016 Nelson Butters Award for Research Contributions to Clinical Neuropsychology from the U.S.-based National Academy of Neuropsychology.
This award is given annually for the best research paper published in the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. Pietrzak and his colleagues received it in recognition of a prospective cohort study that examined the relation between brain amyloid-beta accumulation, hippocampal neurodegeneration, and memory changes in two samples of older adults — those who were cognitively normal and those who were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment — who were followed over a three-year period.
Results of this study revealed that amyloid-beta accumulation was associated with increased hippocampal atrophy, which was in turn associated with greater memory decline. In addition to providing insight into the neurobiology of memory decline in late-life, results of this study inform targets for prevention and early intervention for older adults at risk for cognitive decline and dementia.
A link to the article in the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology may be found here.