Neuropsychiatry Research Group

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Group leader: Dr Andrea Cavanna

Overview

The Neuropsychiatry Research Group is based at the Barberry National Centre of Mental Health and focuses on clinical conditions at the interface between neurology and psychiatry. This group includes the Michael Trimble Neuropsychiatry Research Group, established in 2009 to encourage neuropsychiatry research based in clinical practice, especially among junior researchers.

Our research group

The Neuropsychiatry Research Group has several lines of research across neuropsychiatry and behavioural neurology. Clinical research in movement disorders (basal ganglia disorders) focuses on both neurodevelopmental (Tourette syndrome) and neurodegenerative (Parkinson disease and Huntington disease) conditions. Activity in the field of epilepsy studies includes research on behavioural co-morbidities and ictal alterations of consciousness, plus pharmacological research on traditional and novel antiepileptic drugs. In addition to pharmacological trials, particular attention is given to translational research, with a wide range of investigational approaches ranging from clinical phenomenology to basic neurosciences and neuroimaging.

Current Projects

  • EMTICS (European Multicentre Tics in Children Studies)
  • Clinical correlates of health-related quality of life in Tourette syndrome
  • Ictal alterations of consciousness in Epilepsy and Non-epileptic attack disorder
  • Prevalence of Tourette Syndrome
  • Emotional processing in conversion disorders
  • Psychotic symptoms in Huntingdon's disease
  • Grip strength and variability in Tourette syndrome
  • Selisistat as disease modifying treatment in Huntingdon's disease
  • Physiotherapy interventions in Huntingdon's disease

Recent Publications

  • Cavanna AE, Selvini C, Termine C, Balottin U, Eddy CM (2012) Tolerability profile of clonidine in the treatment of adults with Tourette syndrome. Clinical Neuropharmacology 35:269-272
  • Piedad JCP, Rickards HE, Cavanna AE (2012) What patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome should be treated with deep brain stimulation and what is the best target? Neurosurgery 71:173-192
  • Eddy CM, Rickards H, Cavanna AE (2012) Behavioral adverse effects of antiepileptic drugs in epilepsy. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology 32:362-375
  • Cavanna AE, Monaco F (2009) Brain mechanisms of altered conscious states during epileptic seizures. Nature Reviews Neurology 5:267-276
  • Cavanna AE, Schrag A, Morley D, Orth M, Robertson MM, Joyce E, Critchley HD, Selai C (2008) The Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome-Quality of Life scale (GTS-QOL): development and validation. Neurology 71:1410-1416
  • Eddy CM, Sira Mahalingappa S, Rickards H (2012) Is Huntington's disease associated with deficits in theory of mind? Acta Neurologica Scandanavica. PMID 2240634
  • Eddy CM, Sira Mahalingappa S, Rickards H (2012) Is Huntington’s disease associated with deficits in theory of mind? Acta Neurologica Scandinavica. PMID 22404634.

Staff

Principal Investigators 
Dr Andrea Cavanna - University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, UK
Dr Hugh Rickards - University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, UK

Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr Clare Eddy

Honorary Staff
Dr Manny Bagary - University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust, UK

External Collaborators
Mrs Jan Wright, Clinical Trials Co-ordinator and Research Nurse - University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, UK
Miss Jenny Crooks, Research Assistant - University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, UK
Miss Shabana Akhtar, Research Assistant - University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, UK
Miss Rebecca Devlin, Occupational Therapy Researcher, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, UK
Miss Kerry Gibson, Physiotherapy Researcher, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, UK

PhD Students
Mrs Jenny de Souza - University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, UK

Useful links