Grant: DRA : Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral Program (CGRS D)

Functional Cognitive Disorder (FCD) is a condition where people experience cognitive symptoms, such as forgetfulness, even without signs of brain damage or disease. Despite being common, we do not fully understand why FCD happens or why it does not resolve easily. My research aims to uncover why FCD develops and persists, using concussions as a model since they are a common cause of FCD and often occur in people without other major health problems. In Study 1, I explore factors contributing to the persistence of FCD. I recruited 64 people who had a concussion 6-24 months ago, including 37 with FCD and 27 without. I expect both groups to do well on memory tests and show no major brain injury on scans. However, I think people with FCD will try too hard to remember things, avoid using their memory normally, and worry more about small memory problems, all of which may lead to greater memory concerns. In Study 2, I will investigate why some people develop FCD while others do not. I will examine whether pre-injury health, injury characteristics, and factors measured shortly after the injury (e.g., coping strategies) influence the likelihood of developing FCD. I hypothesize that psychological factors, such as a history of trauma or insecurity in relationships, will be more strongly associated with FCD than physical factors like loss of consciousness at the time of the injury. In Study 3, I will test whether factors that interfere with memory performance, such as pressure or anxiety during testing, contribute to symptoms in FCD. I developed a new task that measures memory more indirectly and reduces performance pressure or other such inhibiting factors. I will compare people with FCD to controls to see if they show greater improvement when memory is assessed in this covert way. My research will help us better understand FCD and how to treat it. It could also help with other conditions like aging or long COVID, where memory problems happen but are similarly hard to explain.