Alexia Mengelberg
Doctor of Philosophy, (Psychology)
Study Completed: 2019
College of Humanities & Social Sciences
Citation
Thesis Title
Ageing, cognition and omega-3 fatty acids
Read article at Massey Research Online: 
The treatment and prevention of dementia is one of the most challenging issues facing health professionals and researchers today. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is the transitional state between normal age-related cognition and dementia. This state provides researchers with an opportunity to investigate the effects of lifestyle factors, such as diet, on cognition at the pre-symptomatic stage of dementia. Miss Mengelberg investigated the effects of a fish oil supplement on cognition and well-being in older adults with MCI. She also examined how the presence of the APOE ɛ4 genotype (a genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease) affected the efficacy of the fish oil. Using a 12-month randomised controlled trial, she found no treatment effect on the cognitive measures. Although she did find a treatment effect on systolic blood pressure and a treatment interaction for ɛ4 carriers on depression and anxiety scores in favour of the fish oil group.
Supervisors
Professor Janet Leathem
Associate Professor Stephen Hill
Publications
Mengelberg, A & Siegert, R. (2003). Is theory-of-mind impaired in Parkinson’s disease? Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 8(3), 191-209.