De quoi consiste cette étude ?

Increasing evidence shows that listening to music from childhood and early adulthood can help recall meaningful events from the past. Importantly, people with dementia have shown to benefit from listening to personally meaningful music, suggesting that musical memory remains preserved. However, the underlying mechanisms by which music improves memory remains unclear.

My research addresses the impact of an autobiographically salient music listening program on memory and brain activity in mild cognitive impairment. Understanding how brainwave activity in this population may differ, will help elucidate mechanisms of music listening that lead to cognitive improvements, ultimately providing insight into musical memory preservation and how it can be leveraged.

Participants will undergo cognitive testing and measure brainwave activity via EEG, a non-invasive neuroimaging method. Participants will be provided an online link (or CD if they do not have wifi) to access their personalized music playlist and will be asked to listen for two weeks at home (20 mins/day, minimum 5 days/wk). Repeated cognitive and EEG assessment will help determine changes in brain function.

De quoi consiste cette étude ?

We are looking to understand what social cognitive symptoms informal caregivers are seeing from their loved one in early dementia and how frequently they occur. Additionally, we want to understand the impact of these symptoms on caregivers' well-being.

De quoi consiste cette étude ?

Baycrest is launching the Kimel Family Centre for Brain Health and Aging, the world’s first research-driven community centre evaluating the effects on brain health of providing personalized dementia-risk reduction programming. As part of that study, participants will complete six surveys to help us determine their dementia risk across five lifestyle domains: physical activity, brain-healthy eating, cognitive engagement, social connections, and mental wellbeing. Although we are using validated scales for these domains, we would like to better understand how people typically perform. For example, norms do not exist for all of our participants’ age range, some of the norms are outdated, and most are not from Canadians. Moreover, participants will repeat these scales every six months, so we can tell them if they have made significant gains, but we don’t know how much of a change is needed to be a clear improvement, and not just “noise”.

De quoi consiste cette étude ?

By understanding the perspectives of various stakeholders involved in dementia care within Ontario health teams, we aim to enhance the quality of life for individuals living with dementia in Ontario.

De quoi consiste cette étude ?

This study consists of a 45-60 minutes virtual interview to better understand the experiences of familial caregivers of persons with dementia.

De quoi consiste cette étude ?

This study looks at how an at-home nature-based virtual reality (VR) program may help people living with Alzheimer’s disease manage behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), such as depression. Caregivers/study partners will have the option of taking part in the study and providing feedback regarding the VR intervention. This project will explore how VR can be used as a non-pharmacological approach to prolong aging in place for individuals with BPSD, as BPSD contributes to rates of institutionalization. This will take place completely remotely, in your own home.

De quoi consiste cette étude ?

In collaboration with our South Asian community collaborators, our goal is to gain an in-depth understanding of new immigrant, multigenerational, South Asian family caregiving for a relative with dementia amidst COVID-19. The goal is to inform future family-centered, healthcare interventions aimed at supporting equity deserving families during times of crisis.

To achieve our goal, we are starting to recruit family care partners living in a multigenerational home and caring for a relative with dementia from each of the four groups of South Asian families. We will be using a multiple case study to examine new immigrant, multigenerational caregiving for a relative with dementia from the perspective of four groups of South Asian families; 1) Pakistani, 2) Bangladeshi, 3) Indian, and 4) Sri Lankan. We will also be using secondary data sources, including genograms, ecoMaps, and key documents.

We will be conducting interviews with a family care partners from each of the four groups. Following these interviews, we will hold four focus groups with a new purposeful sample of South Asian multigenerational care partners to understand if the findings from the interviews reflect their caregiving experiences thereby increasing the reliability of the study findings.

De quoi consiste cette étude ?

Seeking individuals with mild, early-stage dementia ages 65+ to explore how they access daily information like weather forecasts and newspapers. The study aims to improve information accessibility for the dementia community. Participation involves a 60-90 minute session (in-person or via Zoom with caregiver) observing information access behaviors. Findings will guide strategies for making information more comprehensible and accessible. Participants will receive $50 for their time. This study is approved by York University’s ethics committee (#2024-176). For details, contact Dr. Somang Nam at somang@yorku.ca.

De quoi consiste cette étude ?

We are interested in how the brain changes in aging and with dementia. With this study, we will investigate how the brain senses and interprets sights and sounds. We are particularly interested in how listening to music, especially familiar music, evokes emotions and activates vivid memories. Learning how the brain processes music will help us understand why music therapy is such an effective tool for those with Alzheimer’s. We also aim to understand how the brain combines sights and sounds. This is an important part of how we navigate complex everyday situations, such as walking down a busy street. Alzheimer’s disease interferes with the brain’s ability to combine information from different senses, which could cause challenges in daily living.