East Hanover, NJ – August 17, 2022 – Olga Boukrina, PhD, senior research scientist in the Center for Stroke Rehabilitation Research at Kessler Foundation, has received a five-year $674,156 K01 grant from the National Institutes of Health Institute on Aging. The grant funds Dr. Boukrina’s continued research on the role of reading deficits as a barrier to aphasia rehabilitation.
Credit: Kessler Foundation
East Hanover, NJ – August 17, 2022 – Olga Boukrina, PhD, senior research scientist in the Center for Stroke Rehabilitation Research at Kessler Foundation, has received a five-year $674,156 K01 grant from the National Institutes of Health Institute on Aging. The grant funds Dr. Boukrina’s continued research on the role of reading deficits as a barrier to aphasia rehabilitation.
“In this project, we will develop a neurobehavioral reading intervention with the potential to promote post-stroke plasticity,” explained Dr. Boukrina. The study’s overall objective is to provide training and research support while employing a novel approach using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neurofeedback (NFB) for the rehabilitation of reading disorders after stroke.
Reading impairments affecting 40% of left-hemisphere stroke survivors severely limit life participation. For more than half of individuals with aphasia, reading and language impairments become a chronic condition. “This means that a large proportion of stroke survivors with reading impairments have an incomplete response to rehabilitation,” said Dr. Boukrina, adding, “there is an urgent need for effective early interventions that can improve this statistic.”
“Using fMRI neurofeedback signals provide stroke study participants with real-time information as they practice modulating their brain activity. This information will help them select the most effective mental strategies to maintain brain activation patterns associated with better reading recovery. “Engaging in self-regulation strategies combined with right-hand motor imagery can help stroke participants activate a particular part of the brain. We use the real-time fMRI neurofeedback method to inform them on how well they’re doing in this task,” Dr. Boukrina explained.
“Once we have a full understanding of the relationship between brain activity in the left hemisphere and the time course of language recovery, then we can begin to implement other interventions that support the return of healthier patterns of brain activity after stroke,” concluded Dr. Boukrina.
About NIH National Institute on Aging
NIA, one of the 27 Institutes and Centers of National Institutes of Health, leads the federal government in conducting and supporting research on aging and the health and well-being of older people. The Institute seeks to understand the nature of aging and the aging process, and diseases and conditions associated with growing older, in order to extend the healthy, active years of life. The Institute’s mission is to support and conduct genetic, biological, clinical, behavioral, social, and economic research on aging and foster the development of research and clinician scientists in aging. For more information, visit www.nia.nih.gov/about/mission.
About Kessler Foundation
Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes – including employment – for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. For more information, visit KesslerFoundation.org.
For information, contact:
Deb Hauss, senior staff writer, 973.324.8372, [email protected]
Carolann Murphy, senior medical writer, [email protected]
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