Currently Funded Research Projects

Students have the opportunity to be involved in a wide variety of research projects. Faculty research focuses on the environmental factors that support independence, the impact of sensory and cognitive changes on independence, the relationship of engagement in occupation to perceived quality of life, and the role of the family in providing care to individuals with chronic disease. Interest is evolving in the aging worker.

Faculty members collaborate with several other groups at Washington University School of Medicine, including the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, the Division of Health Behavior Research, the Department of Neurology (through the Stroke Management Rehabilitation Team), and the Cognitive Rehabilitation Research Group. Collaborations also exist with the Department of Psychology and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at the Hilltop Campus. In addition, strong relationships exist with the state of Missouri, and with local programs on aging and public agencies that provide health and housing services to older adults.

FACULTY

Dorothy Edwards, Ph.D.
Janet Duchek, Ph.D.
Susan Stark, Ph.D., OTR/L
Carolyn Baum, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA
Leonard Matheson, Ph.D
Monica Perlmutter, MA, OTR
Karen Parker Davis, MA, OTR.


CURRENT RESEARCH

Memory and Aging Project Satellite (MAPS):
Principal Investigator: Dorothy Edwards, Ph.D.
Funded by: National Institute on Aging
Focus: This project's goal is to recruit and retain minority elders in the Washington University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. The project examines the impact of Alzheimer's disease on functional performance and determines the impact of Alzheimer's on minority caregivers.

Improving Cognitive Performance: Cognition, Neurobiological Mechanisms, Treatment and Community Reintegration: Clinical Core
Co-Principal Investigators: Carolyn Baum, PhD, OTR and Alex Dromerick, M.D., Investigator: Dorothy Edwards, Ph.D.
Funded by: The James S. McDonnell Foundation
Focus: This project is a longitudinal study to determine the contribution of cognitive impairments to functional impairment and community reintegration after stroke and mild brain injury.

A Clinical Trial Methodology to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Very Early Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy for Stroke (VECTORS)
Principal Investigator: Alex Dromerick, M.D., Investigator: Dorothy Edwards, Ph.D.
Funded by: The National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke
Focus: This study is a randomized controlled clinical trial of constraint-induced movement therapy initiated within 14 days of stroke onset. Behavioral and Occupational outcomes are being collected along with fMRI and kinematic measures to inform our understanding of learning potential and cortical reorganization after stroke.

Frontal Control Systems and Memory in Healthy Aging and Alzheimer's Disease
Co-Investigators: Janet Duchek, Ph.D., and David Balota, Ph.D.
Funded by: The National Institute on Aging
Focus: This study explores the contributions of frontal and medial temporal systems to the declarative memory deficits that initially occur in Alzheimer's disease. Four series of experiments are designed to address the differential contributions of frontal and medial temporal function to declarative, implicit, and metamemory performance in healthy aging and early dementia of the Alzheimer type. To provide converging evidence regarding the relationship between the targeted brain functions and cognitive performance, we also utilize the frontal and medial temporal measures from traditional neuropsychological testing, and the volumetric measures of these brain areas via neuroimaging techniques.

Improving Cognitive Performance: Cognition, Neurobiological Mechanisms, Treatment and Community Reintegration — Project 1: Characterizing Cognitive Deficits Following Stroke and Head Injury
Investigators: Steven Petersen, Ph.D.; Investigators: Janet Duchek, Ph.D., and Robert Almli, Ph.D.
Funded by: The James S. McDonnell Foundation
Focus: The purpose of this project is to characterize the cognitive deficits in mild head injury and stroke through the use of experimental cognitive tasks that assess aspects of memory, language and attentional processing. This project is designed to improve approaches to cognitive rehabilitation. Currently, efforts to restore cognitive function, and thus return individuals to more independent levels of performance, are not based on data taken from sensitive tests, which measure the more subtle higher-order cognitive deficits associated with acquired brain injury. This project seeks to improve that process.

The Washington University Center for Aging Community Aging Project
Investigators: Susan Stark, PhD, OTR; Dorothy Edwards, PhD; Peggy Neufeld, PhD, OTR
Funding: The Jewish Federation with funding from the Administration on Aging
Program faculty are central to a project examining the geographically defined naturally occurring retirement community. Issues to be addressed are natural and built environments, formal and informal support systems, determination of unmet needs, interventions to enable social participation of older adults.

Promoting Health in Community-Residing Older Adults
Co-Investigators: Carolyn Baum, Ph.D., OTR/L, and Edwin Fisher, Ph.D.
Funded by: The Older Adults Service and Information System (OASIS)
Focus: This is a longitudinal study of community-residing older adults. It tracks their current activity levels, health conditions, and perceptions about health and aging in order to develop programs that foster independence in older adults and promote healthier communities. It is linked to the Health Stages Program, a self-management program to foster health and activity engagement in older adults.

Barriers to Performance in the Home
Funded by: The Program in Occupational Therapy and a grant from the dean of the School of Medicine
Focus: This controlled study of 100 community-dwelling adults and older adults with disabilities will identify the impact of the removal of environmental barriers in the home. The objective is to identify the factors that improve occupational performance and community independence of people with disabilities. This project will partner with existing community agencies.
Principal Investigator: Susan Stark, Ph.D., OTR/L

Contributions of Cognitive and Psychiatric Impairment to Self-Neglect In The Elderly
Principal Investigator: Dorothy Edwards, Ph.D.
Funding: The Retirement Research Foundation
Focus: This study is being developed to determine the cognitive, functional, environmental and psychiatric characteristics of persons who have "senile self-neglect syndrome." Self-neglect syndrome is a major problem for service providers who work with the aging, and often leads to institutional placement. Little is known of the factors associated with this syndrome, and whether persons with self-neglect syndrome can be managed effectively in their own homes.


DEVELOPING RESEARCH PROJECTS

Memory Training in Healthy Aging and Alzheimer's Disease
Investigators: Janet Duchek, Ph.D., Larry Jacoby, Ph.D., and David Balota, Ph.D.
Focus: Investigators are currently developing various strategies to improve memory performance in older adults. These strategies are based upon current theoretical perspectives and empirical data from the cognitive psychology literature.

Impact of Visual Changes on Community Independence
Co-Investigators: Carolyn Baum, Ph.D., OTR/L, and Mae Gordon, Ph.D.; Investigator: Monica Perlmutter.
Focus: The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship of vision to other sensory and cognitive disturbances in a population of elderly persons and to explore the impact of vision on activity patterns and quality of life of older adults. Because the study looks at a community sample, the investigators also seek to determine the extent to which visual problems and medical conditions have been recognized and managed, and to determine how and when individuals seek services for their visual problems.

The Occupational Performance of Persons with Parkinson’s Disease (A Pilot Study)
Investigators: Carolyn Baum, PhD, OTR, Monica Perlmutter, MA, OTR, Patty Schneider, MS, OTR, Joel Perlmutter, MD, Freddie Rivella, MD
We are seeking to describe the occupational performance issues faced by a person with chronic Parkinson’s disease and also those faced by the person providing the day to day care in the home. We are expanding what is currently known about their impairments to include issues of sensory changes and their impact on performance as well as how they spend their time and the activities they have given up. In addition to measures of life satisfaction and quality of life we are looking at executive function, awareness. At the environmental level we are studying what the caregiver observes and his or her burden and life satisfaction. This pilot work will then be included to look at the impact of Deep Brain Stimulation on the daily life of those who receive this new treatment for their disease and as well the impact it has on the family.

Cognition as a Predictor of Unsafe Driving
Co-Investigators Janet Duchek, PhD, John Morris, MD and David Carr, MD
Focus: The purpose of the project is to aid the Missouri Department of Motor Vehicles in determining the utility of a brief cognitive screening measure, the Short Blessed Test (SBT) in predicting performance on the State-administered in-car road test in individuals referred to the Drivers License Bureau for concerns about safe driving. Under the provisions of House Bill 1536, individuals can be referred to the Drivers License Bureau for an in-car road test to determine driving fitness. At this time, there are no brief screening tests that are administered prior to taking a driver out on the road. For safety purposes, it would be useful to have such a screening test that is predictive of driving performance. If an individual fails this screening test, they would not be taken for an in-car road test. Currently, different states are piloting various screening tests for this purpose.