Dr Kyla-Louise Horne
PhD, BA (Hons), BSc
Research Fellow
New Zealand Brain Research Institute, Christchurch
Email: kyla.horne@nzbri.org
Phone: 03 928 1497
Background
I hold a PhD in Neuropsychology from the University of Canterbury with clinical experience in Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease. I am actively involved in both local and national health research networks, including the Health Research Society of Canterbury and the Aotearoa Brain Project. Currently I am the Editor and Programme Co-ordinator of the Australasia Winter Conference on Brain Research.
My research expertise is in the development and progression of cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms that may occur in neurodegenerative conditions, such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s disease, and future dementia risk. I have experience using advanced quantitative brain imaging analysis, machine learning and advanced statistical modelling to better understand neurodegenerative processes in the ageing brain. I also have been working with Prof Simon Lewis at the University of Sydney to examine hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease to see if they could be an early clinical biomarker or increased dementia risk. Recently, I have begun working with Dr Campbell Le Heron to investigate Apathy in Huntington’s disease.
In addition to my research, I work part-time within Prof. Tim Anderson's NZBRI Clinical Trials Research team. We have a number of clinical trials currently underway that cover a broad range of neurological conditions, including Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Multi-System Atrophy and Motor Neuron Disease.
Current Research
I am currently investigating Apathy and other mood disorders in Huntington's and Parkinson's disease, as well developing a new area of research within the NZBRI to examine hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease.
Research Interests
- Parkinson's disease
- Huntington's disease
- Alzheimer's disease
- Ageing
- Cognitive Impairment
- Dementia
- Hallucinations
- Perceptual disturbances
- Mood disorders
- Caregiver Burden
Interests
In my spare time I enjoy gardening, cooking, playing with my munchkin cats and spending time with family and friends.
Projects
- New Zealand Parkinson's Progression Programme (NZP3)
- Cognitive and Neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson's disease
- Dementia risk in Parkinson's disease
- Hallucinations in Parkinson's disease
- MRI-derived modelling of ageing in Parkinson's disease
- Speech disfluencies in Parkinson's disease
- Apathy and other mood disorders in Huntington's disease
Supervisory roles
2021-2024 - Ann Holden, University of Otago, Christchurch PhD. Project Title: "Investigation of Visual Hallucinations in Parkinson’s Disease".
2020 - Eloise Gooch, University of Canterbury CMDS490 Honors Project. Project Title: "Disentangling the contribution of motor and cognitive factors to the occurrence of speech disfluencies in Parkinson’s disease".
2019/2020 - Two master of Data Science summer students, University of Canterbury 10-week project at the NZBRI. Project title: "Hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease: Do patients and their significant others report the same symptoms?"
Link to Dr Kyla-Louise Horne's Google Scholar page
Note: Prior to May 2016, I published under my maiden name of 'Wood'.
Publications
Provided on request for non-commercial personal use by researchers.