Perioperative Cognitive Anesthesia Network
Mission
To promote awareness of brain health in older adults prior to surgical procedures with anesthesia, intensify collaborative focus on brain-behavior-anesthesia interactions, and promote translation of research findings to clinical care.
Our Team
Director of PeCAN, Departments of Clinical and Health Psychology, Neuropsychology, and Anesthesiology
Dr. Price designed her laboratory and research around two primary aims. First, to understand the relative contribution of brain white matter integrity versus subcortical gray matter structure integrity on the cognitive profiles associated with neurodegenerative subcortical diseases (e.g., small vessel vascular dementia/Alzheimer’s disease spectrum disorder, Parkinson’s disease). Second, to apply this knowledge towards more collaborative and longitudinal research examining the predictive value of these patients’ white and gray matter structure integrity on a) disease associated cognitive decline and b) vulnerability to cognitive change after elective medical interventions with anesthesia (e.g., major orthopedic surgery). Federally funded and non-profit institutions have and continue to support both of these research aims (NIA R01; NINDS R01; NINR R01; NSF; NINDS K23; NIA F-32 post-doctoral training award; Alzheimer’s Association; National Parkinson Foundation). An important research subaim of her laboratory involves furthering appreciation for reliable and valid neuroimaging and cognitive assessment approaches for examining cognitive-structure dissociations/associations.
Collaborators
Benjamin Chapin M.D.
Steven T DeKosky MD
F. Kayser Enneking MD
Brenda G Fahy MD, MCCM
Cyndi Garvan PhD
Thomas H Mareci Ph.D.
Marco Pahor M.D.
Thomas A Pearson
Kimberly Sibille Ph.D., M.A.
Glenn E Smith Ph.D., ABPP-cn
Bruce D Spiess MD, FAHA
Jared J Tanner Ph.D.
Patrick J Tighe MD, MS
Our Research
PeCAN Cores
- Clinical-Cognitive
- To guide clinical and experimental approaches for perioperative cognitive and delirium examination, clinical cognitive diagnostic classification, and clinical participant recruitment/ retention planning.
- Neuro-Imaging
- To guide state-of-the-art neuro-imaging studies on participants or animal-based studies employing functional (fMRI), structural, and spectroscopy based methods within research-dedicated scanners within the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute or UF Health patient oriented 3T clinical scanners.
- Biomarker
- To guide acquisition, and processing of perioperative and intraoperatively obtained biomarkers including CSF, plasma, total tau, phospho-tau, pNF-H, UCHL1, and inflammation markers (e.g., IL6, IL8, CRP).
- Data Science
- To guide the science of data integration and modeling for preoperative characteristics, intraoperative time-series data, postoperative clinically reported outcomes, and research based assessments from the adjoining cores. To provide trainee guidance on data quality control, database development, and collaboration with data scientists.
Resources & Publications
- Professional Interest Areas (PIAs) for the International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART)
- Preoperative cognition predicts clinical stroke/TIA and mortality after surgical aortic valve replacement in older adults
- The functional connectivity and neuropsychology underlying mental planning operations: data from the digital clock drawing test
- Delirium Central
- University of Florida researchers receive funding from Alzheimer’s association – WCJB TV20 News story
- Chronic pain and other life experiences may contribute to brain matter loss – UF Health News article
- Parkinson’s Disease Cognitive Phenotypes Show Unique Clock Drawing Features when Measured with Digital Technology
- Proof of concept: digital clock drawing behaviors prior to transcatheter aortic valve replacement may predict length of hospital stay and cost of care
- Call to Arms for Perioperative Cognitive Medicine Specialists, Catherine Price, PhD, ABPP/CN
- Adding ‘Formal Years of Education’ to Patients’ Preoperative Screening
- Assessing Potentially Modifiable Factors Associated with the Development of Postoperative Delirium
Training
A unique component of the PeCAN program is the broader goal of interdisciplinary training for anesthesiology, neuropsychology, geriatric medicine, neuroscience, surgeons, and biomedical engineering. To this end, residents and medical students at the UF College of Medicine attend periodic lectures on the utility and administration of cognitive screeners.
Discussions include:
- the rationale for incorporating cognitive tools into preoperative settings
- the cognitive profile and behavioral presentation of highly prevalent neurodegenerative conditions (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease)
The PeCAN program is based on extensive research indicating that preoperative cognitive and brain health are risk factors for negative postoperative cognitive decline.
Contact Us
Our clinic is located within UF Health Shands Hospital:
- 1600 SW Archer Road, Suite 1111, Gainesville, FL 32608
- Call us at 352-594-6051 or email pecan@phhp.ufl.edu