Trent researcher secures funding for new studies on chemobrain

chemo brain Behavioural Neuroscience Lab at Trent

A new study testing the impact of risk factors on cognitive health and the impact of chemotherapy on cognitive function led by Dr. Gordon Winocur, a Trent University researcher and senior scientist at Baycrest Health Sciences’ Rotman Research Institute, has received a substantial boost, securing recent grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Dr. Winocur, professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology at Trent, will use the funding to take his research on cognitive changes in cancer patients treated with chemotherapy to the next level.

Cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy often complain of memory loss, poor attention, and confused thought processes, a condition sometimes referred to as ‘chemobrain’ or ‘chemofog’. Previously, Dr. Winocur has studied how drugs commonly used in chemotherapy have negative effects on brain function and on the ability to perform basic cognitive tasks. This new funding will be used to expand his research to study the effect of risk factors (age, stress, poor diet) and protective factors (living in enriched healthy, stimulating environment) on cognitive
impairment, and examine the impact of chemotherapy in an animal model that has cancer.

“Older people who live alone, don’t engage with others and don’t eat properly accumulate a lot of risk factors that could interact with the adverse side effects of the drugs used in chemotherapy. “We want to see if the adverse effects of chemotherapy are related to factors in the environment” says Dr. Winocur. “The prediction is that mice in better environments will experience less cognitive impairment.”

The second part of Dr. Winocur’s research project will study cognitive impairment in relation to patients with cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy. This study will involve transgenic mice, or mice that have been genetically engineered to develop cancer, to determine if cognitive impairment can be linked to the disease. Transgenic mice will also be treated with chemotherapy to determine if having cancer accelerates the adverse effects of the drugs.

Structural changes to the brains of the mice will be studied at an animal brain imaging centre associated with the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Animals used in the study will be housed in the state-of-the-art animal facility at Trent University, where cognitive testing will be conducted.

“Trent has an excellent reputation for being innovative in teaching techniques and small group teaching, and is also very supportive of basic research, providing the facilities and resources required to promote important research,” says Dr. Winocur. “There is an excellent research foundation at Trent that this project will help build upon. Ours was the first lab to show that chemotherapy can lead to cognitive difficulties in animal models. Now several labs are doing similar work all around the world. This research showcases an important leadership role for Trent.”

Dr. Gordon Winocur joined the faculty in the Department of Psychology at Trent University in 1970. He is also a professor in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and a senior scientist at the Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, a global leader in innovations in aging and brain health.