Kessler Foundation receives grants from NJ Commission to study deficits in TBI patients

The New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research awarded two grants to scientists at Kessler Foundation to study emotional processing deficits in people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the effects of aerobic exercise on memory impairments after TBI. The grants exceeded $500,000.

"With the support of the Commission, we look forward to expanding our knowledge of how the brain functions after brain injury and developing treatments that improve the function of individuals with TBI," said Nancy Chiaravalloti, Ph.D., director of TBI and Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research at Kessler Foundation. "Aerobic exercise, if proven effective, is cost-effective, natural and readily available, so individuals have control of their rehabilitation. These studies incorporate brain imaging at the new Neuroimaging Center at Kessler Foundation, which shows the importance of gathering objective data to make innovative rehabilitation interventions widely accessible."

Jeanne Lengenfelder, Ph.D., assistant director of Neuropsychology Research, was awarded $397,941 for three years to evaluate impaired emotional processing in individuals with TBI (CBIR13IRG026). Unable to recognize facial expressions and social cues, they often have difficulty maintaining personal relationships. Dr. Lengenfelder and Research Scientist Helen Genova, Ph.D., co-investigator of the study, believe that diffuse axonal injury, the primary damage in TBI, damages connections between brain regions essential for emotional processing. Using three neuroimaging techniques-diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at rest and fMRI during task performance-they will evaluate the extent to which emotional processing deficits in TBI are due to abnormalities in structural and functional connectivity. Brain scans at the Neuroimaging Center at Kessler Foundation will show the damage to structures critical to emotional processes and the effects on functional brain activation.

Victoria Leavitt, Ph.D., research scientist, received a $170,296 grant for two years to study the effect of aerobic exercise on memory in individuals with TBI (CBIR13PIL013). She and co-investigator James Sumowski, Ph.D., research scientist, collected pilot data in individuals with multiple sclerosis that showed the efficacy of a 12-week program of aerobic exercise versus stretching to improve memory. The goals are to improve memory and increase the volume of the hippocampus-the part of the brain that forms and stores memory. Brain scans will be taken before and after the aerobics treatment at the Neuroimaging Center at Kessler Foundation. This is the first study to examine the effects of aerobic exercise in people with TBI.