Heart and Brain Research

Alzheimer's Brain function Brain imaging Cognitive Dementia Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Medical co-morbidity Medicine

Nearly a third of dementia cases can be prevented by modifying our lifestyle, in particular our cardiovascular health. While we know that “what’s good for the heart is good for the brain”, we still don’t entirely know why. Our group investigates this heart-brain link in detail, by studying how the health of our heart and large blood vessels affect the brain and memory as we grow older.

The first Heart and Brain Group meeting happened during lockdown in 2020

The Heart and Brain Group, led by Dr Sana Suri, is based in the Department of Psychiatry and the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging at the University of Oxford. The group combines multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound imaging to investigate how the structure, blood supply and function of brain relate to risk and resilience for dementia. We use population neuroimaging cohorts such as the UK Biobank and the European Lifebrain Project to examine the interaction of lifestyle and genetic risk on cognitive decline. Ultimately, we hope that by understanding the link between cardiovascular and brain health we can identify both how and when in the lifespan preventative interventions for dementia may be most effective.

We collaborate with OxDARE, the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, the Alzheimer’s Society, and Alzheimer's Research UK to engage in public and policy outreach.

We also collaborate with The Douglas Research Centre McGill University Montreal, The Donders Centre for Cognition Radboud University Nijmegen, and the Institute of Cardiovascular Science University College London.