This protocol supports scatter-bed admissions of neurological patients with moderate to catastrophic brain injury for combined clinical evaluation and functional brain imaging with fluoro-deoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and electroencephalography (EEG).
This protocol is aimed at understanding the role the dopaminergic system plays in mechanisms of recovery of impaired consciousness, using [11C]raclopride-PET. The goal of this study is to determine if disorders of consciousness have an underlying dopaminergic deficit and if recovery from severe disorders of consciousness progressively involves a plastic reorganization of the dopaminergic system.
This grant provides funding to assess the scope of misdiagnosis and neglect of patients with disorders of consciousness, consider why these patients are marginalized and outside the public eye, and develop educational materials to instruct physicians on diagnostic and prognostic skills.
This protocol aims to get a better understanding of the patient/family experience in cases involving disorders of consciousness. The goal of this study is to improve communication between physicians and families, gain clinical insight to develop better diagnostic and prognostic tools for assessing these patients, and to inform policy in this area.
In this functional neuroimaging study we will investigate the effects of small-scale stroke on neuronal network function in a rodent model. Small-scale stroke is believed to be a determining factor for neurological diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
The aim of this protocol is to determine the relative efficacy of two computer-based programs designed to enhance attention in a set of normal 18-25 year olds. Functional improvement will be assessed by neurocognitive performance on set of standardized tests, data that will be correlated with a set of MR-based brain imaging biomarkers reflective of structural brain connectivity.
This project is aimed at learning how surrogates of patients with disorders of consciousness understand the consent process when enrolling the patient in research and decide whether or not to participate. We are interested in understanding their decisional process and risk for holding a therapeutic misconception. The project utilizes the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Clinical Research (MacCAT-CR) to assess the surrogate’s decision making process to consent the patient to research.
