A £3.5 million Wellcome grant has been awarded to the University of Bath to investigate how cognitive decline and premature brain ageing contribute to psychotic disorders like schizophrenia.
Led by Professor Esther Walton from the Department of Psychology, the five-year project aims to develop new treatments with fewer side effects and find ways to prevent and slow cognitive impairment.
Titled ‘The glue that holds the pieces together’: Unlocking Cognitive Health in Psychotic Disorders, the groundbreaking study is co-designed with adults who have lived experience of psychosis.
Professor Esther Walton said: "Cognitive impairment in psychosis is often overlooked, yet it can shape a person’s entire future. Our research aims to change that.
“By working with lived experience experts and by combining advanced computational brain imaging methods with experimental mouse models, we believe this research project will be a game changer, paving the way for earlier interventions, better treatments, and a deeper understanding of cognitive decline in psychotic disorders.”
Ad Gridley, a project consultant diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager, highlights the significance of this approach: "Our lived experience panel has been involved from the start, shaping the research and ensuring it reflects real-world challenges. We’ll continue to provide feedback and help communicate findings—being at the heart of this study is truly empowering."
Cognitive impairment is one of the most disabling aspects of psychotic disorders, often appearing early and worsening over time. Recent research suggests that the brain changes behind these impairments resemble premature ageing, such as brain shrinkage.
Professor Walton’s team will use cutting-edge methods to investigate cognitive impairment in psychosis, including:
Brain scans and computer models to study how cognitive impairment and psychosis speed up brain ageing
Studying mice to understand the brain cell changes linked to cognitive impairment and schizophrenia
Analysing protein samples from people who later developed psychosis to find new ways to prevent memory and thinking problems
By understanding how and when cognitive decline begins, the study hopes to drive early interventions that could slow or prevent deterioration.
Bringing together experts from Cardiff, Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, and the University of Jena in Germany, the goal is to raise awareness, break stigma — especially among young people — and develop better ways to predict, prevent, and treat these issues.