Matthew Pilgrim is a grad student in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, studying changes in cognition, and how they are affected by medication, in patients with neurodegenerative disorders.
Describe your journey to becoming an HBHL Fellow
Originally from Toronto, I earned my bachelor’s degree in Science with an honours in psychology here at McGill University. My interest in neuroscience was first piqued in a class about the cognitive functions of various brain systems and areas taught by Dr. Michael Petrides, a prominent neuropsychology researcher. I hadn’t realized how complex and beautiful our neural computing systems are and that they can be studied with such detail. From that point on, I couldn’t get enough; I took all the neuroscience courses I could and performed honours research studying decision-neuroscience in the lab of Dr. Lesley Fellows. After completing my honours degree I knew I wanted to transition to more clinical, patient-focused work. This led me to the lab of Dr. Madeleine Sharp, where I now study how cognition is altered as the brain breaks down in neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. I’m proud to approach HBHL’s goals from a clinical direction, and thus work toward better understanding of the effects of neurodegeneration on the brain and its functional output.
Tell us about your project
The aim of my project is to better understand cognitive deficits in neurodegenerative disorders, and the effect of treatment and medicine on these deficits. It is known that many different cognitive processes are disrupted in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the current focus on these deficits is quite narrow; in part due to the difficulty of teasing apart the interconnected cognitive symptoms.
A hallmark of PD is the loss of dopamine-producing neurons. Dopamine has been implicated in processes regulating attention and working memory, as well as procedural learning. I aim to study how the cognitive challenges seen in PD are related to dopamine depletion by finding easily identifiable cognitive markers. I will do this by using a wide range of tests that evaluate cognitive processes in which dopamine signaling has been implicated. I work with PD patients who are willing to perform our tasks both with and without their medication in order to evaluate how cognitive performance can be altered by dopamine replacement therapies commonly used to treat PD.
What is your favourite thing to do to take a break from science?
Physical activity is my favourite way to take a break from science. I love to challenge myself with activities including boxing, martial arts like taekwondo, and fencing.
Boxing is by far the hardest workout I’ve found, making it a great way to take my mind off of research. Nothing blows off steam like boxing training.
What inspires you?
I find myself inspired by everyday things, especially my interactions with patients. I’m always struck by the vast differences in brain health as we age. My parents, for example, are in great physical and mental shape for their age. They contrast substantially with the patients I interact with, who are often almost a decade younger and sometimes have difficulty taking care of themselves due to illness and cognitive impairment. Spending time with these patients really motivates me to better understand what underlies differences in brain health with age. Through my research I hope to figure out exactly what goes on in the brain to cause this divergence, and how we can take action against it.
