A Roadmap to Brain Health
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T
he ability to preser ve memory plays a possible for us to identify a reference point
pivotal role in healthy brain function later for brain health,” said VandeWeerd. “And once
in life. But for some adults, memory loss we identify what a healthy brain looks like in
is a scary reality. In partnership with ElMindA late life, we can differentiate conditions like
and The Villages Health researchers at the depression or cognitive disease which could
University of South Florida (USF) may have lead to earlier interventions that may be able to
an answer: Brain Network Activation (BNA) slow down the progression of these diseases
technology. and improve quality of life.”
BNA technology uses functional electroen- To date, more than
700 adults have
participated in the
study.
cephalogram technology to produce a map
showing how well each part of the brain func-
tions. Wearing a cap fitted with electrodes,
doctors can test the speed and strength of
the patient’s responses. Originally developed
by ElMindA, this technology has been used
to treat and evaluate concussions, but Carla
VandeWeerd, Ph.D., USF associate professor,
believes it could be applied to evaluate brain
“With The Corridor’s support, we’ve had the
opportunity to collect data on questions we do
not know the answers to,” said VandeWeerd.
health in aging adults. Both VandeWeerd and Jeffrey Lowenkron,
A Matching Grants Research Program project Health, feel BNA technology has the potential
connects VandeWeerd in collaboration with
The Villages Health to conduct a two-year
study focused on differentiating unhealthy brain
M.D., chief medical officer for The Villages
to
reshape
health
care,
diagnosis
and
treatment practices for aging adults.
patterns from healthy ones. “Being able to ask ourselves, ‘how can
The study involves participants engaging in treatment course’ – that to me is the benefit
a comprehensive health assessment and
receiving a BNA at baseline which is repeated
we take technology and link it to an actual
of a relationship with The Corridor,” said
Lowenkron.
at six and 12 months. This allows researchers
to track and identify any changes in their brain
function over time.
“The preliminary data looks like it should be
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