WEST ORANGE — The brain remains one of the most complex, mysterious organs in the human body, and scientists have long believed that if they could understand it better, they could make headway on some of the most frustrating and debilitating diseases and disorders.
Whether it’s the origin of Multiple Sclerosis or cognitive impairments from a Traumatic Brain Injury, scientists are working feverishly to understand exactly how our brain's function and improve.
The Kessler Foundation today officially opens its new $6 million neuroimaging center in West Orange, the only freestanding rehabilitation institution in the United States dedicated to research.
Scientists will study images of the brain and how it is affected by specific behavioral modifications, said John DeLuca, a neuroscientist and vice president for research and training and director of the Neuroimaging Center at Kessler Foundation
“Neuroimaging is one of the only objective ways to assess how an investigational treatment affects the brain or spinal cord which in turn, leads to improved outcomes for people with disabilities,” he said.
How and why therapies work is crucial for scientists to understand so that they can better treat patients, but it is also key for insurance companies to understand, DeLuca said.
The military’s health insurance plan Tricare, for example, does not cover certain cognitive rehabilitation services for the treatment of Tramautic Brain Injury, which is one of the most common injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan. The military does not cover some of these therapies because they “have not been fully proven as effective stand-alone therapy,” according to the military’s website.
DeLuca believes the research done at Kessler could help prove the effectiveness of these treatments and convince insurance companies — both public and private — to cover these therapies.
Insurance companies will sometimes pay for cognitive therapies but it is often done on a patient-by-patient basis.
“If cognitive rehabilitation works, shouldn’t everyone get it,” DeLuca said.
The $6 million neuroimaging Center has a state-of-the-art 3T Siemens Skyra Scanner that is approved for scanning of the brain and spinal cord. Researchers can gather information on the structure, tissue, density, and integrity of brain matter, evaluate damage to the spinal cord, and assess degree of neurorecovery.
The new center will study how best to improve the thinking, learning and memory of individuals with multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury. It will also study mobility and nerve regeneration in people with spinal cord injury, the spatial perception of stroke survivors and the cognitive effects of chemotherapy.
“We still haven’t unlocked the mystery of the three pounds of matter that sits between our ears,” President Obama said, earlier this year when announcing the White House’s BRAIN initative, which will try to better map the brain. “As a result, we’re still unable to cure diseases like Alzheimer’s or autism, or fully reverse the effects of a stroke. And the most powerful computer in the world isn’t nearly as intuitive as the one we’re born with.”