Category: Department of Brain Sciences

Guide to Sober October: what’s in it for you?

David Nutt

This month, people worldwide will take on the 31-day ‘Sober October’ challenge, a movement that began in the UK to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support, benefiting those with cancer. Even if you’re not officially participating, Sober October offers a chance to reset your body and rethink your relationship with alcohol. In our latest blog, Professor David Nutt from the Department of Brain Sciences shares expert tips on how to make the most of this healthy, alcohol-free month.

Sober October is here, and it’s the perfect opportunity to hit reset on your relationship with alcohol – whether you’re looking to completely abstain or simply cut down. Much like Dry January or Dry July, this month-long challenge is about taking a break from alcohol and reassessing its place in your life.

With alcohol consumption on the decline among Gen Z and Millennials, it’s clear that more and more people are recognising the benefits of taking a break from booze and now is the perfect time to jump on board.

Sober October is a global movement encouraging people to stop drinking for the month of October. For many, it’s a time to take a break and rest after summer’s social gatherings and prepare for the end of year holiday season with a clearer mind. It’s not just about abstinence; it’s also about fostering better health, improving mental clarity, and building positive habits for the future.

Progress not perfection

Stopping alcohol intake for a whole month can have major health benefits.  People who participated in previous abstinence challenges like Dry January have reported improved sleep (56%), weight loss (38%), and better mental health. Even those who didn’t make it through the full month still saw long-term reductions in alcohol intake and enhanced well-being, showing that it’s about progress, not perfection.  There are also likely to be measurable physiological improvements such as lowering your blood pressure if you are hypertensive, losing weight (as alcohol has more calories than most people imagine) and putting more money in your pocket – perfect for upcoming holiday shopping.

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Stroke survivors’ cognitive health under the spotlight: New research aims to improve diagnosis and treatment

Dr Fatemeh Geranmayeh

Did you know stroke is the largest cause of disability in the UK and the fourth biggest killer? To mark Stroke Awareness Month, Dr Fatemeh Geranmayeh from the Department of Brain Sciences sheds light on her recent research looking at the recovery of cognitive functions after cerebrovascular disease and the ‘prediction problem.’  

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Given that stroke strikes every five minutes here in the UK, chances are that you personally know someone affected by stroke.  Of the 1.3 million stroke survivors, three quarters have problems with cognition (that is problems with memory, thinking, language, problem solving, numbers or planning actions). A significant proportion (a third) develop dementia within five years. It’s not surprising therefore that vascular brain health is beginning to get the attention that it deserves in the field of dementia research.  

The spectrum of post-stroke cognitive deficits is broad with significant negative impacts on therapy engagement, mental health, employment and societal costs. Consequently, diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairment following stroke have been highlighted as priority by patients and national guidelines for stroke management. 

From a research perspective, much effort has been put into understanding the ‘prediction problem’; that is which patients are likely to a) recover cognition, b) show cognitive deterioration requiring additional monitoring and care needs, and c) benefit most from personalised therapy.   

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Psychedelics – how modern neuroscience research is leading to new treatments for brain disorders

Psychedelic therapies have the potential to vastly improve the treatment of mental health disorders such as depression. The Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research is paving the way in exploring these innovate treatments using psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms. Here, Professor David Nutt from the Department of Brain Sciences discusses. 

When most people think of psychedelics, the first thing that comes to mind is LSD-inspired Flower Power during the 1967 Summer of Love in the USA, with its associated revolution in art and music. This explosion of use was seen to be fuelling the protests against the war in Vietnam and so rapidly led to LSD and related psychedelics such as psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushroom) being banned, first in the USA and then later globally. This ban still exists today and has effectively censored research for over 50 years. The ban is very unfortunate as prior to this there were hundreds of studies that showed psychedelics were effective treatments for a range of mental illnesses as well as some other brain disorders. Millions of patients may therefore been denied access to potentially life-saving treatments.

This situation is beginning to change with several universities setting up psychedelic research groups including the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial, which was the first and is now five years old. The impetus to these new research centres is twofold. First, today we have much more powerful neuroimaging methods to examine the impact of psychedelics on the brain and second, these neuroimaging studies have revealed possible mechanisms underpinning the therapeutic activity of psychedelic drugs, so encouraging more clinical research. This research has revealed remarkable efficacy in a number of patients who have not responded to prior conventional treatments and may be the start of a whole new phase of novel therapies for mental illnesses.

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My day in the living lab: Could I help accelerate drug trials?

Rory-Cellan-Jones

Rory Cellan-Jones is an author and former BBC Technology Correspondent who, in 2019, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Rory discusses his visit to the ‘Living Lab’ at the UK DRI Care Research & Technology Centre – a unique mock apartment where scientists can monitor the behaviour of patients in a domestic environment.

My week started with quite a stressful day. For nearly five hours I was under the microscope, my every move watched by scientists. They made me walk up and down, rise from a chair without using my arms, open and close my hand rapidly. I spent half an hour staring at a computer screen trying to work out which shape fitted where on a grid, one of a number of cognition tests. They even made me make two cups of tea and four slices of toast.

It was tiring but it was all in the cause of science – and potentially faster drug trials. This all took place in Imperial College’s Living Lab, a room fitted out like a small flat on the ninth floor of a tower block in West London. The lab is equipped with video cameras and a series of sensors which provide data on its occupants’ activities.

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The trials and tribulations of applying for a PhD

Finding the right PhD programme can often be a time-consuming and lengthy exercise. Emre Yavuz, Translational Neuroscience Master’s student, shares his experience of applying for a PhD programme and the many challenges he faced along the way.

This September I’m going to be starting my PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL, supervised by Professor Hugo Spiers. Excited as I am about moving onto the next chapter of my career, choosing the right PhD for me was no easy process.

Choosing the right PhD programme comes down to many variables. When I had initially applied for several programmes in early December, I was excited by the possibility of travelling and living abroad after two years of lockdown. I had received interviews from places including Toronto, Montreal, Zurich, Lausanne and London. Although studying abroad seemed highly tempting at first, there were many other factors I had to take into account. (more…)

Alzheimer’s disease: why your genes aren’t always your destiny

For Dementia Action Week, Kitty Murphy, second year PhD student at the UK DRI Centre at Imperial, shares the complex nature of Alzheimer’s disease and why there’s more to it than just our genes.

Dementia diagnosis rates are dropping for the first time ever. I wish I could tell you that this is due to less people developing dementia, and not because more people are living with it undiagnosed. According to research carried out by Alzheimer’s Society, many people are not being diagnosed due to the misconception that memory loss is a normal part of aging. However, memory loss is often an early sign of dementia, particularly in the most common cause known as Alzheimer’s disease. As a result, the Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Action Week, an annual awareness campaign, has made diagnosis their featured theme.

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Our Entrepreneurial Journey — a gait to better care?

Master’s student Emre Yavuz reflects on the highs and lows of taking part in a virtual hackathon – from designing an app to predict the risk of Dementia to pitching to 16 judges!

During lockdown I came across a post about a virtual hackathon called ‘Code to Care’, focusing on finding sustainable healthtech solutions which was run by Imperial College Business School. Having worked with Virtual Reality for my undergraduate dissertation, I knew there was something I could bring to this event! Through a Zoom speed-dating event during the hackathon, I connected with three other like-minded individuals who were all interested in using mobile technology to help lessen the burden of the lives of those stricken by Dementia.

We had decided to focus creating an app to help predict one’s risk of Dementia and monitor their disease progression, and had just three days to make our final pitch as convincing as possible in just two minutes. Based on the research suggesting a potential correlation between gait patterns and cognitive decline, we felt that focusing our app on the use of gait analysis would be a fruitful venture. (more…)

A letter to our taught students and their loved ones

This is an open letter from Mr Martin Lupton, Vice-Dean of Education to taught students in the Faculty of Medicine and their loved-ones.

Dear Students and their friends and families,

My eldest son has recently returned to University in the UK and, even though I work in both the health and education sector, I have to acknowledge that I have a certain level of anxiety about him. It is very difficult to read the news about all that has happened during this time of COVID and not to worry.

I am telling you this because I want you to understand that I have some inkling of what you may be feeling right now, particularly if you come from overseas or your daughter, son or relation, has just started their university life. The first thing I want to say is “Welcome to the Faculty of Medicine”. We are very proud of what we have achieved during this global pandemic; the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College has been a key player contributing to the world’s understanding of the virus, the mapping of the virus, teaching people about the virus and developing a new vaccine. However, that is not all that we have been doing. (more…)

Lockdown Hangover: The impact of COVID-19 on alcohol consumption

With reports of a spike in alcohol sales suggesting that many are turning to alcohol during these unprecedented times, PhD student Emily Palmer is conducting a survey to find out more about alcohol consumption and the potential public health consequences.

I blink my eyes open. Head is throbbing, suddenly I realise how thirsty I am and reach for the glass of water on my bedside table. Blissful saviour. Then slowly, the blurry memory of uncorking yet another bottle of wine swims to the forefront of my mind. This is my experience of being hungover.

Throughout my teenage years, hangovers were a ritualistic reprimand for a failure in self-control. However, throughout my studies – first in biomedical science and then neuroscience – I began to learn more about the science of the hangover phenomenon. My interest started with a project in my undergrad degree focusing on alcohol. Alcohol in the context of intoxication and addiction is widely researched, and there is no shortage of published papers. I was fascinated to learn how this widely used, socially acceptable drug ravages the brain and body. (more…)

Eating disorders: why are they so important to study?

Around 1.25 million people in the UK are affected by an eating disorder. Eating disorder psychiatrist, Dr Dasha Nicholls, provides an insight into this group of complex disorders and the factors that influence them.

It’s common for people to be dismissive when I tell them I work in the eating disorders field. Unless you have suffered from or know someone who has suffered from an eating disorder, the public perception, and indeed the scientific and clinical one often too, is that eating disorders are not serious. Of course, everyone knows of a few high profile people who have suffered or died from an eating disorder, but they may be seen as rare casualties of a celebrity lifestyle.

What many people don’t know is that most people with an eating disorder are of normal or even higher weight, that boys and men are affected too and that eating disorders don’t discriminate by ethnicity or social class. For most people, eating disorders start in the teenage years or young adulthood, but children as young as seven and adults as old as 90 can suffer too. The incidence in children has increased significantly in the past 15 years, for reasons I will speculate on more below. (more…)