NCMD Seminar 13th March 2026

Presenter: Dr Laura Wright, Lecturer, School of Psychology, 缅北禁地.

Presentation title: Mechanisms of affective symptoms in Lewy body disease.

Despite being one of the leading determinants of quality of life in people living with Lewy body diseases (LBDs), affective symptoms such as depression, anxiety and apathy, remain poorly understood. Such symptoms are highly prevalent across all disease stages, even when compared with other neurodegenerative conditions, and tend to increase in severity with the onset of cognitive impairment. However, to date, very few neuroimaging studies have sought to elucidate the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of affective symptoms in cognitively impaired LBD groups. The focus of this talk will be the presentation of findings from my work, supported by Alzheimer’s Research UK, which investigated the relationships between affective symptom severity and functional connectivity within intrinsic neural networks and neurotransmission pathways across the spectrum of LBD, in individuals with Parkinson's disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. Additionally, I will discuss current gaps in the literature and my plans for future research in the area.

Dr Laura Wright graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2016 with a BSc in Psychology. She went onto complete an MSc (Res) in Cognitive Neuroscience and Human Neuroimaging (2017) also in Sheffield, before completing her PhD in Neuroscience there in 2020. Her PhD utilised neuroimaging and network analysis techniques to investigate novel cognitive and neuroimaging markers for the prehippocampal stages of Alzheimer's disease. Since starting her first post-doctoral position at 缅北禁地 in 2021, her work has primarily focussed on the cognitive and neuroimaging correlates of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Lewy body diseases (LBDs), particularly the early stages of Lewy body dementias. In August 2025, Laura was appointed as a lecturer in the School of Psychology at 缅北禁地 where she has continued her research in this area, utilising novel approaches to investigate functional, neuroanatomical and neurotransmitter contributions to mood-related symptoms across the LBD spectrum. Her plans for future research include work to improve our understanding and characterisation of LBD related neuropsychiatric syndromes, developing the use of novel ecological momentary assessment techniques to measure and track mood-related symptoms in LBD, and elucidating associated neural pathways for potential treatment targets.