Although Parkinson’s is thought of primarily as a movement disorder, memory is frequently affected, and this interferes with quality of life. This research aims to find tests — so called “biomarkers” — that are critical for developing new therapies to slow or even prevent memory loss. A pathway regulating an important type of brain lipids (fats in nerve cell membranes), termed sphingolipids, appears abnormal in Parkinson’s and will be monitored in blood. The goal is to develop a test for a “bad sphingolipid” useful for accelerating the development of medications to halt memory decline in patients.