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Finding Hope Through Research

UCP Research and Educational Foundation Hosts Discussion on Brain Imaging

(June 23 - New York, NY) Last week the UCP Research and Educational Foundation hosted a discussion between consumers, staff, and their families with leading medical experts in the field of brain imaging technology and clinical research.

The discussion was co-hosted by two foundation board members, Loreen Arbus and Ara Cohen.

Dr. Michael Johnston, a Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University, gave the keynote presentation on the implications of rapidly advancing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology on the clinical care of people with developmental disabilities.

New MRI technology allows researchers to visualize white matter in the brain and to literally create a color digital map similar to an architect's diagram of electrical wiring. Doctors can use MRI to better evaluate developmental brain injury and fine-tune treatment to prevent further injury.

Dr. Johnston also said that fMRI is allowing researchers to learn more about plasticity in the developing brain, or the ability of the brain to reorganize and recover from injury.

Dr. Joy Hirsch, Director of the Functional MRI Research Center at Columbia University, said that fMRI represents a giant leap forward in the journey to learn more about how the brain works.

Functional MRI technology was pioneered by researchers the Kennedy Krieger Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and was sponsored in part by grants from the UCP Research and Educational Foundation.

The UCP Research and Educational Foundation also funded research by Dr. Terrie Inder at the University of Melbourne, who applied advanced MRI techniques to better understand brain injury and development. Her results have been published and presented at scientific meetings.

The UCP Research and Educational Foundation plans to sponsor a series of dialogs with leading experts on brain research in New York and around the country in the future. For more information, please contact Linette Smith-Slade at 800-872-5827.

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