Fellow

Professor Sahakian is Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology in Cambridge. She has made major contributions to the understanding of the biological bases of major neurological and psychiatric disorders. Her research has spanned the fields of classical experimental psychology and human psychology. Her initial research was in the control of food intake in animals and in human eating disorders. Later, studies in animal cognition and its pharmocological manipulation were the foundation of her current research. Her findings regarding the role of abnormal cholinergic systems in Alzheimer’s disease led her to demonstrate their reversal with drugs. In parallel she made major contributions to the development of an automated, computerised cognitive test battery(CANTAB) that is becoming a benchmark in the field Recent research includes predictive assessments as to who might benefit from early drug treatment for dementia. These factors have lead Professor Sahakian to expand her research into the other neuropsychiatric disorders, depression and schizophrenia. Her collaborations with neuroimaging are leading to further understanding of the mechanisms and neural substrates of these disorders.