CSHC - Center for the Study of Human Cognition

Professor of clinical neuropsychology

I am a clinical neuropsychologist with a strong interest in integration of neuropsychology with neuroscience. My basic training was at the University of Oslo, and my dr.philos. work in 1984 was on aphasia, based on 10 years of clinical research with stroke patients. I have held clinical positions at Sunnaas Rehabilitation hospital and at Rikshospitalet University hospital, from 1983 I had an adjunct academic position at the Department of Psychology and in 1993 I became full professor.  My current main interests are in aging and dementia, and in the influence of genetic variation on individual differences. Also I have been involved in a broad range of clinical studies of neurological patients groups (head injury, epilepsy, stroke).

Two main projects are
Dementia, biomarkers and early signs of cognitive deficts. There is strong evidence that clinical dementia is preceded by a long period of gradual buildup of molecular pathology, structural brain changes, and cognitive decline (mild cognitive impairment). How can these sources of information best be integrated to identify targets for emerging treatment methods? Major mechanisms of pathology are vascular changes and proteinopathies (Alzheimer's disease). What are the specific effects of these mechanisms on cognition, and how can they be distinguished? Collaborators are Department of Neurology at  Akershus University hospital, and Department of Neuropsychiatry at Gøteborg University.  See projects section.

Genetics, brain and cognition. The human genome contains a huge number of variations that are not linked to disease, but may be important for individual differences in cognition and rate of cognitive aging. We try to focus on neurobiologically plausible mechanisms of variation and associated genes. This is a new field where there are few established facts, but based on  an accumulating data bank of genetic material, brain scans and cognitive data from participants in a wide age range, we have begun to identify significant associations. Main collaborators are professor Raja Parasuraman, George mason University and departments of Psychology and of Human Genetics, University of Bergen, and Center for Molecular  Biology and Neuroscience, University of Oslo. See www.braingenetics.org and project section.