Staff Profile
Dr Laura Wright
Lecturer and Research Associate
- Email: laura.wright@ncl.ac.uk
- Address: School of Psychology
Dame Margaret Barbour Building
Wallace Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE2 4DR
Current Role
I'm currently based in the School of Psychology and split my time between two roles. In the School of Psychology I am currently acting as module lead, covering maternity leave, for PSY1004 Cognitive Psychology. Within the Translational and Clinical Research Institute I work as a research associate on a project funded by the Medical Research Council aiming to develop tools for the early identification cognitive decline in diverse Tanzanian populations.
Areas of Expertise
- Neuroimaging
- Alzheimer's disease
- Neurodegeneration
- Neuropsychology
- Memory and Cognition
- Dementia
Qualifications
- PhD, Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, 2021
- MSc (Res), Cognitive Neuroscience and Human Neuroimaging, University of Sheffield, 2017 (Distinction)
- BSc, Psychology, University of Sheffield, 2016 (First Class Honours)
Memberships
- British Neuropsychological Society (BNS)
- Alzheimer's Research UK (ARUK) North Network
- Dementias and Neurodegenerative Diseases (DemaNDs) Research Group
I am a psychologist with a background in cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology and neuroimaging. My previous research has focussed on cognitive and neuroimaging markers for prodromal and preclinical manifestations of Alzheimer's disease as well as the cognitive and neural correlates of neuropsychiatric symptoms in prodromal Lewy body dementia. I have a particular interest in neuropsychological indicators of neurodegenerative disease and the development of clinical tools for early, differential diagnosis as well as the mechanisms of neuropsychiatric symptoms related to dementia. Through a combination of cognitive, neuropsychiatric and neuroimaging approaches I hope to establish reliable diagnostic markers for the earliest stages of neurodegeneration.
In my previous role I acted as lead researcher on a project focussing on neuropsychiatric symptoms in Lewy body disease, their relationship with underlying neuropathology and declines in cognitive function over time. Currently, I am working on a project to adapt and develop tools for the early identification of cognitive decline related to Alzheimer's disease in Sub-Saharan Africa.
I am passionate about research that may contribute to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric changes in neurodegenerative disease. It is my hope that my research will contribute to the development of earlier, more accurate diagnostic tools for neurodegenerative dementias, the identification of appropriate treatment targets for some of the more distressing symptoms of these conditions, and ultimately improve the quality of life for both carers and people living with dementia.
Acting module lead for PSY1004 - Cognitive Psychology.
-
Articles
- Wright LM, Donaghy PC, Burn DJ, Taylor JP, O'Brien JT, Yarnall AJ, Matthews FE, Firbank MJ, Thomas AJ, Lawson RA. Predicting cognitive decline using neuropsychiatric symptoms in prodromal Lewy body dementia: A longitudinal study. Parkinsonism and Related Disorders 2023, 113, 105762.
- De Marco M, Wright LM, Valera-Bermejo JM, Ferguson C. APOE ε4 positivity predicts centrality of episodic memory nodes in patients with mild cognitive impairment: A cohort-based, graph theory-informed study of cognitive networks. Neuropsychologia 2023. In Press.
- Wright LM, De Marco M, Venneri A. Verbal fluency discrepancies as a marker of the prehippocampal stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Neuropsychology 2022, epub ahead of print.
- Wright LM, De Marco M, Venneri A. Topological divergence in structural covariance brain networks in healthy ageing and cognitive decline: a graph theory approach. Neurobiology of Aging 2022. Submitted.
- Wright LM, De Marco M, Venneri A. A graph theory approach to clarifying aging and disease related changes in cognitive networks. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 2021, 13, 676618.