Elizabeth Head, M.A., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Toronto, 1997
Office: 203 Sanders-Brown Center on Aging
Tel: (859) 257-1412 Ext 481
The goals of our research are to identify interventions that may prevent the onset and/or progression of Alzheimer disease and thus promote healthy brain aging. To do this our lab tests hypotheses using a canine model of human brain aging with a focus on testing combination treatment approaches, each approach targeting different pathological pathways associated with aging or Alzheimer disease. Canines naturally develop learning and memory impairments with age as well as similar types of brain pathology. Our studies are multidisciplinary and extend from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to testing cognitive function (learning and memory) and neurobiological studies (anatomical, genomics and proteomics). We currently have two studies in progress: (1) to identify gene expression changes in the brains of aged animals treated either with a diet high in antioxidants/mitochondrial co-factors, or with behavioral enrichment or treated with a combination of both diet and enrichment; (2) to test the hypothesis that vaccination with beta-amyloid peptide when combined with behavioral enrichment will lead to significant improvements in cognition and reductions in neuropathology in aged canines.
Cotman, CW, Head, E. (2008).
The canine (dog) model of human aging and disease: dietary, environmental and immunotherapy approaches. J. Alzheimers Dis. 15(4): 685-707.
Head, E. (2008).
Oxidative Damage and Cognitive Dysfunction: Antioxidant Treatments to Promote Healthy Brain Aging. Neurochemical Research, August 6: Epub.
Head, E., Pop, V., Vasilevko, V., Hill, M., Saing, T., Sarsoza, F., Nistor, M., Christie, L., Milton, S., Glabe, C., Barrett, E., Cribbs, D. (2008).
A 2-Year Study with Fibrillar Aβ Immunization in Aged Canines: Effects on Cognitive Function and Brain Aβ. Journal of Neuroscience, 28: 3555-3566.
Siwak-Tapp, C.T., Head, E., Muggenburg, B.A., Milgram, N.W., and Cotman, C.W. (2008).
Region specific neuron loss in the aged canine hippocampus is reduced by enrichment. Neurobiology of Aging, 88: 249-259.
Opii,W.O., Joshi , G., Head, E., Milgram, N.W., Muggenburg, B.A., Klein, J.B., Pierce, W.M., Cotman, C.W., Butterfield, D.A.. (2008).
Proteomic Identification of Brain Proteins in the Canine Model of Human Aging Following a Long-Term Treatment with Antioxidants and a Program of Behavioral Enrichment: Relevance to Alzheimer’s Disease. Neurobiology of Aging, 29(1): 51-70.
Siwak-Tapp, C.T., Head, E., Muggenburg, B.A., Milgram, N.W., and Cotman, C.W. (2007)
Neurogenesis Decreases with Age in the Canine Hippocampus and Correlates with Cognitive Function. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 88(2): 249-259.
Milgram, N.W., Siwak-Tapp, C.T., Araujo, J., Head, E. (2006).
Neuroprotective effects of cognitive enrichment. Ageing Research Reviews, 5: 354-369.
E. Head, E.G. Barrett, M. P. Murphy, P. Das, M. Nistor, F. Sarsoza, C. Glabe, R. Kayed, S. Milton, V. Vasilevko, N. W. Milgram, M. G. Agadjanyan , D. H. Cribbs, C. W. Cotman (2006).
Immunization with fibrillar Aβ1-42 in young and aged canines: Antibody Generation and Characteristics, and effects on CSF and Brain Aβ. Vaccine, 24: 2824-2834.
Tapp, D.T., Head, K., Head, E., Milgram, N.W., Muggenburg, B.A., Su, M.-Y. (2006).
Application of an Automated Voxel-based Morphometry Technique to Assess Regional Gray and White Matter Brain Atrophy in a Canine Model of Aging. NeuroImage, 29(1): 234-244.
Milgram, N.W., Head, E., Zicker, SC., Ikeda-Douglas, C.J., Murphey, H. Muggenburg, B. Siwak, C., Tapp, D, Cotman, CW (2005).
Learning ability in aged beagle dogs is preserved by behavioral enrichment and dietary fortification: A two-year longitudinal study. Neurobiology of Aging. 26:77-90.
Tapp, P.D., Siwak, C.T., Gao, F.Q., Choui, J.Y., Black, S.E., Head, E., Muggenburg, B.A., Cotman, C.W., Milgram, N.W., Su, M.-Y. 2004).
Frontal lobe volume, function and Aβ Pathology in a canine model of aging. Journal of Neuroscience, 24(38): 8205-8213.
Head, E., Liu, J., Hagen, T.M., Muggenburg, B.A., Milgram, N.W., Ames, B.N., and Cotman, C.W. (2002)
Oxidative damage increases with age in a canine model of human brain aging. Journal of Neurochemistry, 82: 375-381.
Head, E., McCleary, R., Hahn, F.F, Milgram, N.W. and Cotman, C.W. (2000)
Region-specific age at onset of β-amyloid in dogs. Neurobiology of Aging, 21(1): 89-96.
Head, E., H. Callahan, B.A. Muggenberg, and C.W. Cotman and Milgram, N.W. (1998)
Visual Discrimination Learning Ability and Beta-amyloid Accumulation in the Dog. Neurobiology of Aging, 19: 415-425.
Additional Publications linked at NCBI's PubMed
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