Professor James B. Rowe

Professor James B. Rowe is Director of Cambridge Centre for Frontotemporal Dementia and Related Disorders

Short CV

Professor James B. Rowe is both a neuroscientist and a cognitive neurologist.

His early training in Medical Sciences and Experimental Psychology (1^st class hons.) began at Downing College at the University of Cambridge (1988-1991), followed by Magdalen College at the University of Oxford (1991-1994) and a PhD at the Functional Imaging Laboratory of the Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology (1998-2001), supervised by Professor Richard Frackowiak and Professor Dick Passingham.

His PhD focused on the neural mechanisms of response selection and attention to action, in health and Parkinson’s disease, using human neuroimaging techniques, such as positron emission tomography, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

After completing his PhD he undertook full time clinical specialist training in neurology, for four years. During his clinical training he continued research, including UK and international collaborations on the interactions within cortical and subcortical neural networks. His Wellcome Trust Intermediate Research Fellowship (2005-2009) enabled him to develop further research methodologies (including magnetoencephalography), clinical experience with Frontotemporal dementia, and the theoretical foundations of his later research program. In 2009, he became a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Science.

In 2015, he was appointed as the Professor of Cognitive Neurology at the University of Cambridge and an affiliated Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

His scientific work has been published in more than 200 high-ranking peer-reviewed articles including Science, Brain, Nature Communications, and Neurology.

He is an active consultant neurologist, leading regional specialist clinics for patients with early dementia, frontotemporal dementia, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, and other ‘tauopathies’, and he is a consultant in the Cambridge Memory Clinic.

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Selected publications

Passamonti, L., Rodriguez, P. V., Hong, Y. T., Allinson, K. S. J., Bevan-Jones, W. R., Williamson, D., Jones, P. S., Arnold, R., Borchert, R. J., Surendranathan, A., Mak, E., Su, L., Fryer, T. D., Aigbirhio, F. I., O'Brien, J. T., & Rowe, J. B. (2018). [(11)C]PK11195 binding in Alzheimer disease and progressive supranuclear palsy. Neurology. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000005610 PMID: 29703774
Lansdall, C. J., Coyle-Gilchrist, I. T. S., Jones, P. S., Vazquez Rodriguez, P., Wilcox, A., Wehmann, E., Dick, K. M., Robbins, T. W., & Rowe, J. B. (2018). White matter change with apathy and impulsivity in frontotemporal lobar degeneration syndromes. Neurology. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000005175 PMID: 29453244
Murley, A., & Rowe, J. B. (2018). Neurotransmitter deficits from frontotemporal lobar degeneration: a critical review. Brain. doi: 10.1093/brain/awx327
Cope, T. E., Rittman, T., Borchert, R. J., Jones, P. S., Vatansever, D., Allinson, K., Passamonti, L., Vazquez Rodriguez, P., Bevan-Jones, W. R., O’Brien, J. T., & Rowe, J. B. (2018). Tau burden and the functional connectome in Alzheimer’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy. Brain. doi:10.1093/brain/awx347
Lansdall, C. J., Coyle-Gilchrist, I. T. S., Jones, P. S., Vazquez Rodriguez, P., Wilcox, A., Wehmann, E., Dick, K. M., Robbins, T. W., & Rowe, J. B. (2017). Apathy and impulsivity in frontotemporal lobar degeneration syndromes. Brain, 140(6), 1792-1807. doi:10.1093/brain/awx101 PMID: 284865
Passamonti, L., Vazquez Rodriguez, P., Hong, Y. T., Allinson, K. S., Williamson, D., Borchert, R. J., Sami, S., Cope, T. E., Bevan-Jones, W. R., Jones, P. S., Arnold, R., Surendranathan, A., Mak, E., Su, L., Fryer, T. D., Aigbirhio, F. I., O'Brien, J. T., & Rowe, J. B. (2017). 18F-AV-1451 positron emission tomography in Alzheimer's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy. Brain, 140(3), 781-791. doi:10.1093/brain/aww340 PMID: 28122879 PMC5382948
Mak, E., Su, L., Williams, G. B., Firbank, M. J., Lawson, R. A., Yarnall, A. J., Duncan, G. W., Mollenhauer, B., Owen, A. M., Khoo, T. K., Brooks, D. J., Rowe, J. B., Barker, R. A., Burn, D. J., & O'Brien, J. T. (2017). Longitudinal whole-brain atrophy and ventricular enlargement in nondemented Parkinson's disease. Neurobiol Aging, 55, 78-90. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2017.03.012 PMID: 28431288 PMC5454799
Rittman, T., Rubinov, M., Vertes, P. E., Patel, A. X., Ginestet, C. E., Ghosh, B. C., Barker, R. A., Spillantini, M. G., Bullmore, E. T., & Rowe, J. B. (2016). Regional expression of the MAPT gene is associated with loss of hubs in brain networks and cognitive impairment in Parkinson disease and progressive supranuclear palsy. Neurobiol Aging, 48, 153-160. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.09.001 PMID: 27697694 PMC5096886
Wolpe, N., Ingram, J. N., Tsvetanov, K. A., Geerligs, L., Kievit, R. A., Henson, R. N., Wolpert, D. M., Cam, C. A. N., & Rowe, J. B. (2016). Ageing increases reliance on sensorimotor prediction through structural and functional differences in frontostriatal circuits. Nat Commun, 7, 13034. doi:10.1038/ncomms13034 PMID: 27694879 PMC5063954
Rae, C. L., Nombela, C., Rodriguez, P. V., Ye, Z., Hughes, L. E., Jones, P. S., Ham, T., Rittman, T., Coyle-Gilchrist, I., Regenthal, R., Sahakian, B. J., Barker, R. A., Robbins, T. W., & Rowe, J. B. (2016). Atomoxetine restores the response inhibition network in Parkinson's disease. Brain, 139(Pt 8), 2235-2248. doi:10.1093/brain/aww138 PMID: 27343257 PMC4958901
Coyle-Gilchrist, I. T., Dick, K. M., Patterson, K., Vazquez Rodriquez, P., Wehmann, E., Wilcox, A., Lansdall, C. J., Dawson, K. E., Wiggins, J., Mead, S., Brayne, C., & Rowe, J. B. (2016). Prevalence, characteristics, and survival of frontotemporal lobar degeneration syndromes. Neurology, 86(18), 1736-1743. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000002638 PMID: 27037234 PMC4854589
Zhang, J., Rittman, T., Nombela, C., Fois, A., Coyle-Gilchrist, I., Barker, R. A., Hughes, L. E., & Rowe, J. B. (2016). Different decision deficits impair response inhibition in progressive supranuclear palsy and Parkinson's disease. Brain, 139(Pt 1), 161-173. doi:10.1093/brain/awv331 PMID: 26582559 PMC4949391
Hughes, L. E., Rittman, T., Regenthal, R., Robbins, T. W., & Rowe, J. B. (2015). Improving response inhibition systems in frontotemporal dementia with citalopram. Brain, 138(Pt 7), 1961-1975. doi:10.1093/brain/awv133 PMID: 26001387 PMC5412666
Tsvetanov, K. A., Henson, R. N., Tyler, L. K., Davis, S. W., Shafto, M. A., Taylor, J. R., Williams, N., Cam, C., & Rowe, J. B. (2015). The effect of ageing on fMRI: Correction for the confounding effects of vascular reactivity evaluated by joint fMRI and MEG in 335 adults. Hum Brain Mapp, 36(6), 2248-2269. doi:10.1002/hbm.22768 PMID: 25727740 PMC4730557
Rohrer, J. D., Nicholas, J. M., Cash, D. M., van Swieten, J., Dopper, E., Jiskoot, L., van Minkelen, R., Rombouts, S. A., Cardoso, M. J., Clegg, S., Espak, M., Mead, S., Thomas, D. L., De Vita, E., Masellis, M., Black, S. E., Freedman, M., Keren, R., MacIntosh, B. J., Rogaeva, E., Tang-Wai, D., Tartaglia, M. C., Laforce, R., Jr., Tagliavini, F., Tiraboschi, P., Redaelli, V., Prioni, S., Grisoli, M., Borroni, B., Padovani, A., Galimberti, D., Scarpini, E., Arighi, A., Fumagalli, G., Rowe, J. B., Coyle-Gilchrist, I., Graff, C., Fallstrom, M., Jelic, V., Stahlbom, A. K., Andersson, C., Thonberg, H., Lilius, L., Frisoni, G. B., Pievani, M., Bocchetta, M., Benussi, L., Ghidoni, R., Finger, E., Sorbi, S., Nacmias, B., Lombardi, G., Polito, C., Warren, J. D., Ourselin, S., Fox, N. C., Rossor, M. N., & Binetti, G. (2015). Presymptomatic cognitive and neuroanatomical changes in genetic frontotemporal dementia in the Genetic Frontotemporal dementia Initiative (GENFI) study: a cross-sectional analysis. Lancet Neurol, 14(3), 253-262. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(14)70324-2 PMID: 25662776
Ye, Z., Altena, E., Nombela, C., Housden, C. R., Maxwell, H., Rittman, T., Huddleston, C., Rae, C. L., Regenthal, R., Sahakian, B. J., Barker, R. A., Robbins, T. W., & Rowe, J. B. (2015). Improving response inhibition in Parkinson's disease with atomoxetine. Biol Psychiatry, 77(8), 740-748. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.01.024 PMID: 24655598 PMC4384955
Nombela, C., Rowe, J. B., Winder-Rhodes, S. E., Hampshire, A., Owen, A. M., Breen, D. P., Duncan, G. W., Khoo, T. K., Yarnall, A. J., Firbank, M. J., Chinnery, P. F., Robbins, T. W., O'Brien, J. T., Brooks, D. J., Burn, D. J., group, I.-P. s., & Barker, R. A. (2014). Genetic impact on cognition and brain function in newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease: ICICLE-PD study. Brain, 137(Pt 10), 2743-2758. doi:10.1093/brain/awu201 PMID: 25080285 PMC4163033
Ye, Z., Altena, E., Nombela, C., Housden, C. R., Maxwell, H., Rittman, T., Huddleston, C., Rae, C. L., Regenthal, R., Sahakian, B. J., Barker, R. A., Robbins, T. W., & Rowe, J. B. (2014). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibition modulates response inhibition in Parkinson's disease. Brain, 137(Pt 4), 1145-1155. doi:10.1093/brain/awu032 PMID: 24578545 PMC3959561
Herz, D. M., Haagensen, B. N., Christensen, M. S., Madsen, K. H., Rowe, J. B., Lokkegaard, A., & Siebner, H. R. (2014). The acute brain response to levodopa heralds dyskinesias in Parkinson disease. Ann Neurol, 75(6), 829-836. doi:10.1002/ana.24138 PMID: 24889498 PMC4112717
Kehagia, A. A., Housden, C. R., Regenthal, R., Barker, R. A., Muller, U., Rowe, J., Sahakian, B. J., & Robbins, T. W. (2014). Targeting impulsivity in Parkinson's disease using atomoxetine. Brain, 137(Pt 7), 1986-1997. doi:10.1093/brain/awu117 PMID: 24893708 PMC4065022
Wolpe, N., Moore, J. W., Rae, C. L., Rittman, T., Altena, E., Haggard, P., & Rowe, J. B. (2014). The medial frontal-prefrontal network for altered awareness and control of action in corticobasal syndrome. Brain, 137(Pt 1), 208-220. doi:10.1093/brain/awt302 PMID: 24293266 PMC3891444
Schrag, A. E., Mehta, A. R., Bhatia, K. P., Brown, R. J., Frackowiak, R. S., Trimble, M. R., Ward, N. S., & Rowe, J. B. (2013). The functional neuroimaging correlates of psychogenic versus organic dystonia. Brain, 136(Pt 3), 770-781. doi:10.1093/brain/awt008 PMID: 23436503 PMC3580272
Ghosh, B. C., Calder, A. J., Peers, P. V., Lawrence, A. D., Acosta-Cabronero, J., Pereira, J. M., Hodges, J. R., & Rowe, J. B. (2012). Social cognitive deficits and their neural correlates in progressive supranuclear palsy. Brain, 135(Pt 7), 2089-2102. doi:10.1093/brain/aws128 PMID: 22637582 PMC3381722
Carlin, J. D., Calder, A. J., Kriegeskorte, N., Nili, H., & Rowe, J. B. (2011). A head view-invariant representation of gaze direction in anterior superior temporal sulcus. Curr Biol, 21(21), 1817-1821. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2011.09.025 PMID: 22036180 PMC3267037
Hughes, L. E., Nestor, P. J., Hodges, J. R., & Rowe, J. B. (2011). Magnetoencephalography of frontotemporal dementia: spatiotemporally localized changes during semantic decisions. Brain, 134(Pt 9), 2513-2522. doi:10.1093/brain/awr196 PMID: 21840892 PMC3170535
Sharma, N., Baron, J. C., & Rowe, J. B. (2009). Motor imagery after stroke: relating outcome to motor network connectivity. Ann Neurol, 66(5), 604-616. doi:10.1002/ana.21810 PMID: 19938103 PMC3791355
Rowe, J. B., Toni, I., Josephs, O., Frackowiak, R. S., & Passingham, R. E. (2000). The prefrontal cortex: response selection or maintenance within working memory? Science, 288(5471), 1656-1660. PMID: 10834847