Abbie Chapman’s neurovascular and dementia lab and research program blend the fields of cerebrovascular biology and neuroscience to understand novel vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia. The majority of her work is focused specifically on the unique and relatively unstudied vasculature supplying the ischemia-prone hippocampus. Chapman’s lab works to determine hemodynamic and cognitive consequences of age- and hypertension-induced hippocampal vascular dysfunction, including changes in basal blood flow, blood-brain barrier permeability, neurovascular coupling, neuroplasticity, learning and memory. She is particularly interested in understanding sex differences in hippocampal vascular dysfunction, particularly in the post-menopausal state that may increase the susceptibility of the hippocampus and its vasculature to damage and promote vascular dementia. The overall goal of her research is to understand the function of the hippocampal vasculature to develop strategies to protect the hippocampus from hypoxic/ischemic injury during aging and disease states associated with vascular dementia to slow cognitive decline and maintain neurocognitive health. Techniques Combined in vivo and ex vivo methodologies include: pressure myography, hydrogen clearance, laser Doppler flowmetry, simultaneously imaging changes in blood flow and neuronal activity via miniscope, hippocampal electrophysiology, fluorescent spectroscopy, fluorescent imaging of capillaries, immunohistochemistry and fluorescent microscopy, behavioral test of learning, memory and sensorimotor function. Accepting graduate students for Fall 2024
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