Yesterday I gave a presentation at the inaugural Brain
Meeting of the Quito Brain and Behavior lab. The presentation was on neurocognitive
function and socioeconomic status. Not everybody’s cup of tea, but it attracted
about 20 academics from various fields. That was what we wanted, there are lots
of people here who want to do some brain based research, and the monthly Brain
Meetings are a way to get them together. Hopefully, this will encourage research
and collaborations. The meetings will be held at 4pm every first Tuesday of the
month during the teaching semesters.
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| The advertising poster for the inaugural Brain Meeting of the new lab. |
The Brain Meetings are organized by the Quito Brain and
Behavior lab, which is being set up at Universidad San Francisco de Quito by me
and Dr. Ana F. Trueba, a psychophysiologist. With her interest and expertise,
and my background in neuropsychology and psychopathology, we are forming an
international class research group on brain sciences. We both have a lot of
experience in running projects, and publishing data in international journals,
so forming the lab is helping us to extend this. In addition we have a paid research assistant and several
graduate and undergraduate volunteers who are gaining research experience in
the lab. Recently an expert in genetics and cognitive neuroscience also joined the group.
We currently have two projects running, one on predication
of academic performance with neuropsychological tests, and the other a
validation study on various tests of premorbid function. We are also developing
a new battery of cognitive tests that could be used in various clinical
studies, for example to measure cognitive decline in dementia. The development of
these tests is important because there are currently few assessment tools that
are validated for use in Ecuador. By producing our own, we can facilitate
future research. We also have studies planned on the role of cortisol and inflammation
markers in sub-clinical psychopathology, and some experimental studies of the
effects of the hormone and neuromodulator oxytocin. As more collaborators join
us, the number and range of projects will increase.
The lab houses a reasonable neuropsychological
test library, in fact possibly the biggest in Ecuador. This includes several
commercial tests (such as Wechsler tests, Delis Kaplan Executive Function System)
as well as many more experimental tests. In addition, we already have some
physiological recording equipment, and the university is in the process of
buying eye-tracking systems, which will be used in neuromarketing research. So
there is plenty of potential. The next Brain Meeting will be held on March 3rd at 4pm at Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
