The Center for BrainHealth, part of The

University of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD or UT Dallas) is a public research university in Richardson, Texas. It is one of the largest public universities in the Dallas area and the northernmost institution of the University of Texas system. It wa ...

' school of

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ''Behavioral and Brain Sciences'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of Open Peer Commentary established in 1978 by Stevan Harnad and published by Cambridge University Press. It is modeled on the journal ''Current Anthropology'' (whi ...

, is a research institute focused exclusively on brain health that combines brain research with clinical interventions. Founded by Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman in 1999, the Center for BrainHealth houses 125 researchers,

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

fellows, doctoral students, master's students, and research clinicians who work on 60 privately and federally funded research projects. The Center provides academic training and houses specialists in, among many others,

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic b ...

(TBI), healthy brain aging,

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...

(ADHD),

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

, and

posttraumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

(PTSD). To help raise awareness of and funding for research underway at the Center for BrainHealth, a number of proponent groups have formed. These include the Think Ahead Group (TAG) of young professionals and Friends of BrainHealth.

Research

Researchers work side-by-side with clinicians. Brain scientists at the Center use technologies to elucidate how brain networks can be strengthened and reconnected, including electroencephalography (EEG) to record the brain's electrical rhythms during cognitive task performance, functional MRI (fMRI) scans to measure brain blood flow during cognitive tasks, an indicator of brain activity and brain morphometrics to measure size and shape differences of brain regions to millimeter accuracy. The Center houses specialists in various fields of

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...

, and has produced publications from members of the BrainHealth Team. Research initiatives include:

History

The Center for BrainHealth, part of The

(UTD), was established in 1999 under the direction of Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, UT Dallas' Dee Wyly Distinguished Chair in Brain Health. Originally located at UT Dallas'

Callier Center for Communication Disorders Callier is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alex Callier (born 1972), Belgian musician * Debbie Gary Callier (born 1948), American air show pilot * Frances Callier (born 1969), American actress, producer, writer, and comedian ...

, in 2004 the

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is an agency of the U.S. state of Texas's government that oversees all public post-secondary education in the state. It is headquartered at 1801 North Congress Avenue in Austin. THECB det ...

approved the purchase and renovation of a nearby building at 2200 Mockingbird Lane in Dallas to be the Center's own facility. This facility is adjacent to the UT Southwestern North Campus. The Center's virtual lab is part of the National Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury Plan, and in 2004 the BrainHope Program was established for children with traumatic brain injuries. Also in 2004, Dee and Charles Wyly endowed the $2-million Dee Wyly Distinguished Chair at the Center and a $1.5-million gift from Sallie and Frederic B. Asche, Jr., to enable the establishment of the Sallie and Frederic B. Asche Jr. Advanced Treatment Wing at the Center for BrainHealth. In 2005 the Center received a $2-million gift to endow a chair for the Center's medical science director. The Center's memory research initiatives were expanded in 2006 with $1 million to establish the Berman Laboratory for Learning and Memory and the Berman Scholars Program for young researchers doing postdoctoral training in memory. In 2007, businessman and philanthropist

T. Boone Pickens Thomas Boone Pickens Jr. (May 22, 1928 – September 11, 2019) was an American business magnate and financier. Pickens chaired the hedge fund BP Capital Management. He was a well-known takeover operator and corporate raider during the 1980 ...

donated $5 million to the Center for BrainHealth to fund educational and research initiatives in the area of brain science. In 2008, the Center's Middle School Brain Years project conducted the pilot study of its Strategic Memory and Reasoning Training (SMART) Program, an experimental curriculum designed to improve strategic reasoning skills in teens. The pilot study's success led to a $6 million grant from Texas Legislature for the project's expansion.

Facilities

The Center for BrainHealth is located in a building designed by Kyley Harvey of

HKS, Inc. HKS, Inc. is an American international architecture firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas (USA). History The firm was founded in 1939 by Harwood K. Smith. In 2002, HKS expanded its international presence by opening HKS Arquitectos in Mex ...

, on a site near the UT Dallas' Callier Center for Communication Disorders and the

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 18,800 employees, more than 2,900 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient vi ...

in the city of Dallas. In 2004, UT Dallas purchased a building with a $5 million donation from Dianne Cash. The new building was named the Frances and Mildred Goad Building in honor of Cash's mother, who benefited from the Center's efforts, and grandmother. Originally constructed in 1970, the redesign and remodel was an extensive undertaking that began in June 2005, completed in September 2006, with the building formally dedicated on January 26, 2007. Each floor of the facility is dedicated to carrying out one aspect of BrainHealth's mission and includes an auditorium, virtual classrooms, the

Virtual Learning Center, and a reception hall. The second floor contains computers and data analysis tools, as well as an outlet for brain scientists, engineers, and technology experts to explore data. The third floor houses clinically based research projects, including a facility for individuals to undergo brain fitness checkups for discovering ways to prevent memory decline and a place for adults and children to participate in research aimed at learning more about how to strengthen brain function after injury or disease. The Center for BrainHealth houses

electroencephalography Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The biosignals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in the neocortex ...

labs, data analysis tools,

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...

machines, an

rTMS Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive form of neurostimulation, brain stimulation in which a changing magnetic field is used to induce an electric current at a specific area of the brain through electromagnetic induction. An ele ...

(Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) lab, and brain

morphometric Morphometrics (from Greek μορϕή ''morphe'', "shape, form", and -μετρία ''metria'', "measurement") or morphometry refers to the quantitative analysis of ''form'', a concept that encompasses size and shape. Morphometric analyses are co ...

laboratories.

Think Ahead Group

Think Ahead Group (TAG) is a young professionals group based in Dallas, Texas, that raises awareness of brain health and funds for research taking place at the Center for BrainHealth. The Think Ahead Group, founded in October 2009, now includes over 300 members. All contributions support the cause of brain health and the Center's many research focus areas-

(TBI),

(ADHD),

(PTSD), addiction, BrainHealth physical, dementia, exercise and the brain, healthy brain aging, and virtual brain training.

Directors

* Sandra Bond Chapman, Ph.D. - Founder and Chief Director *John Hart, Jr., M.D. - Medical Science Director *Sarah Monning, M.B.A. - Community Relations Director

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Center For Brainhealth University of Texas System University of Texas at Dallas Medical research institutes in Texas Neuroscience research centers in the United States Healthcare in Dallas 1999 establishments in Texas Southwestern Medical District