Parkinson's Disease

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of an oral multi-strain probiotic in the treatment of anxiety in individuals with Parkinson's Disease. 

This project will explore the effect of exercise on brain energetics using functional MRI and PET imaging in people with Parkinson's disease.

To examine the effects of Parkinson's medication on decision making and risk taking in Parkinson's patients and healthy controls. 

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder without a cure. While the search for a cure continues, there is a growing interest in psychiological approaches to manage distress in PD. The main objective of this study is to investigate various clinical outcomes in PD associated with different coping styles. Findings from this study will form the basis for projects aimed at designing interventions to foster beneficial coping styles and studies into the neural underpinnings of coping. 

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disease that has effects on both movement and mental health. One of the most common mental health complications of PD is depression. Up to 30% of Parkinson's patients will experience depression at some point. We aim to investigate whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a type of electrical stimulation for the brain, can improve depression in PD as well as improve motor function in PD.

Parkinson's disease results from the loss of dopamine producing brain cells; however, the mechanism that start and continue this loss are still largerly unknkown. Recent research has suggested a protein called tau may contribute to the development and progression of Parksinon's disease. Using Positron Emission Tomography (PET), a brain imaging technique, we hope to determine if and how much tau is present in healthy control subjects. This control data will then be used for comparison for data collected in patients with Parkinson's and related diseases.