Dr Sarah MacPherson

Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience
Alexandra House
17 Queen Square
London
WC1N 3AR

Tel: 020 7679 5570

One of the several ways to structurally and functionally divide the frontal lobes of the brain. Using Brodmann's labelling, the blue area represents the dorsolateral prefrontal region, while the red area represents the ventromedial prefrontal region

Current Research and Interests

1. Frontal Lobe Functions and Ageing

One area of my research is concerned with the effects of healthy adult ageing on the frontal lobes of the brain. The frontal lobes can be subdivided into different regions such as the dorsolateral and ventromedial prefrontal areas. While the dorsolateral area is thought to be important for executive abilities and working memory, the ventromedial area is thought to be involved in the processing of emotions and the regulation of social behaviour. Experiments have been conducted to examine the effects of healthy adult ageing on tasks thought to tap these different frontal areas.

2. Dual-tasking in Healthy Adult Ageing and Alzheimer Disease

Patients in the mild stages of Alzheimer disease typically show a failure in the ability to perform two tasks simultaneously, despite being able to perform the tasks individually. In contrast, healthy older individuals are able to perform two tasks at the same time relatively well, providing the tasks do not employ the same cognitive mechanisms. I am interested in understanding how these dual-task co-ordination functions operate, and in an attempt to do so, carry out studies comparing the dual-task performance of individuals with healthy and impaired working memory.

3. Confabulation and Memory Control Processes

My most recent research interests lie in the area of confabulatory disorders and memory control processes. We are examining the role that different frontal areas play in the control of memory using both patient studies and neuroimaging techniques.

Publications

Frontal Lobe Functions and Ageing

MacPherson, S.E., Phillips, L.H. & Della Sala, S. (2002). Age, executive function and social decision-making: a dorsolateral prefrontal theory of cognitive aging. Psychology and Aging, 17, 598-609.

Phillips, L.H., MacPherson, SE& Della Sala, S. (2002). Age, cognition and emotion: the role of anatomical segregation in the frontal lobes. In J. Grafman (ed.) Handbook of Neuropsychology. (pp. 73-97). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science.

Garden, S., Phillips, L.H. & MacPherson, SE (2001). Mid-life aging, open-ended planning, and laboratory measures of executive function. Neuropsychology, 15, 472-482.

Dual-tasking in Healthy Adult Ageing and Alzheimer Disease

Cocchini, G., Logie, R.H., Della Sala, S., MacPherson, SE, & Baddeley, A.D. (2002). Concurrent performance of two memory tasks: evidence for domain specific working memory systems. Memory and Cognition, 30, 1086-1095.

Assessment of Executive Function Deficits

Della Sala, S., MacPherson, SE, Phillips, L.H., Sacco, L. & Spinnler, H. (2003). How many camels are there in Italy? Cognitive estimates standardised on the Italian population. Neurological Sciences, 24, 10-15.

MacPherson, S.E. & Della Sala, S. (2001). Welcoming normative data for Wisconsin Card Sorting test. Neurological Sciences, 21, 258-260.

This page last modified 12 November, 2009 by ICN WEB Team

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