Network Events

The University of East Anglia is pleased to announce the next Dementia Open Forum will take place on Thursday 24th June 2021 from 2 to 3 pm on Zoom.

Speaker: Keir Yong, Alzheimer's Society Fellow, UCL

Presentation: ‘Changes in perception and spatial awareness arising in dementia: considering origins and implications for support’

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is often mis-perceived as a disorder largely or solely of memory.  However, the disease also affects areas of the brain that are responsible for seeing what and where things are.  Dementia-related visual impairment tends to be neglected, partly owing to the assumption that any visual problems are due to the eyes rather than the brain.  Visual impairment in AD has received increased attention through the syndrome posterior cortical atrophy (PCA; 'visual variant of Alzheimer's') which is typically caused by AD but presents with dramatic impairment of vision in contrast to relatively spared memory.

This presentation will feature themes and challenges regarding PCA, particularly regarding characteristic symptoms, everyday consequences and developing approaches to support people living with dementia-related visual impairment. 

Keir Yong Ph.D. is a neuropsychologist and Alzheimer’s Society Fellow at the Dementia Research Centre, University College London (UCL), UK.  He co-leads the UCL longitudinal study of posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), is the International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment (ISTAART) Atypical AD Communications Chair and PCA Working Group research chair.  He is the winner of the Nonpharmacological Interventions early career researcher award and British Neuropsychological Society Elizabeth Warrington Prize.  His work has emphasized practical translation of findings, emphasising implications of clinical presentation for care needs, symptom management and assessment.  His translational neuropsychological research has formed the basis of strategies and assistive technology to maximise reading, navigation and upper limb function in individuals experiencing dementia-related visual loss.

Our bi-monthly series of free events is open to all.  Dementia researchers from UEA, and guests, present their cutting-edge studies and findings, with a different researcher leading each event.  There is an opportunity to ask questions and anyone with an interest in dementia research is welcome, creating an exchange of knowledge between researchers, clinicians, people with dementia and their carers, and the general public.    

Please email dementia.research@uea.ac.uk if you would like to attend, and we will forward you the Zoom link.

The event will be recorded and edited for our YouTube channel - if you have any questions or would not wish to be included in the video, please reply to let us know.

 We hope you'll be able to join us.