VA RR&D Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology

弗吉尼亚州普罗维登斯大学神经恢复和神经技术研发中心(CfNN) 医疗保健系统(VAPHS)统一了来自 弗吉尼亚州、布朗大学和附属医院发现、设计、开发和部署新的 神经技术和基于设备的治疗，促进退伍军人的康复 行动、沟通、心理健康和肢体功能方面的障碍。CfNN的三个重点领域是 每一家公司都致力于进行严格的、同行评议的科学研究，从而产生新的诊断、 退伍军人脊髓损伤、中风、肌萎缩侧索硬化症的康复和治疗策略 硬化症(ALS)、癫痫、肢体丧失、创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)、抑郁症和其他 神经系统疾病或损伤。CfNN的三个重点领域是：(1)恢复通信和 活动，(2)恢复精神健康，(3)恢复肢体和感觉功能。重点领域 跨学科研究工作得到了三个核心的支持，这些核心提供了必要的基础设施和 专业服务：(A)神经成像(B)记录、解码和计算神经科学，以及 (C)评估、成果衡量和执行。CfNN的研究由一个 支持科学生产力、协调协同的敬业管理团队 CfNN与其学术和临床附属机构的关系，与当地和 国家退伍军人管理局官员，并优化我们为退伍军人服务的研究。CfNN的战略计划和 研究战略通过其重点之间的互补专业知识和资源来最大限度地提高互动 区域和核心。这反过来又支持一个高影响力的研究社区，专注于应用 在退伍军人事务部以及更广泛的地区和国家大脑中，医疗设备对神经健康的影响 科学界。通过此次续订，CfNN将在未来五年内利用并扩大其 在退伍军人管理局普罗维登斯内部以及与退伍军人管理局其他中心合作进行研究，以实现 康复目标对大量受影响的退伍军人及其家人很重要。这些目标 包括：为中风、脊髓损伤或截肢的退伍军人恢复手臂和腿部功能； 为患有肌萎缩侧索硬化症的退伍军人改善和保持直观、快速的沟通；改善 了解、及早发现和处理癫痫；更有效地治疗退伍军人 患有创伤后应激障碍、抑郁症、强迫症或其他严重的心理健康障碍。 CfNN还旨在制定、验证和传播有效的成果措施 针对这些疾病的新的恢复性神经技术的临床试验。除了对智能交通系统的研究之外 研究人员，CfNN为杰出的早期职业研究人员的培训和研究生涯提供便利， 寻求与知名临床医生、科学家和工程师一起招募他们，以专注于他们的 关于改善神经系统疾病或损伤退伍军人康复的研究工作。CfNN为 致力于为试点研究提供种子资金，使附属调查人员能够 有前景的研究和收集初步数据，以告知和加强更大的研究项目， 从而战略性地利用退伍军人管理局的资源，以实现更大的公共和私人投资 临床实用的关键演示所必需的。通过与布朗大学的密切合作， CfNN为本科生、研究生、神经心理学提供教育机会 实习生和博士后研究人员更多地了解退伍军人管理局，激励他们塑造自己的职业生涯 不仅是为了更好地理解基本的人类神经科学，而且是为了利用 这一知识有助于改善退伍军人的健康和康复。

The VA RR&D Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology (CfNN) at the Providence VA Healthcare System (VAPHS) unifies a distinguished team of scientists, engineers and clinicians from the VA, Brown University, and affiliated hospitals to discover, design, develop, and deploy novel neurotechnologies and device-based therapies that advance the rehabilitation of Veterans with impairments in mobility, communication, mental health, and limb function. CfNN’s three Focus Areas are each dedicated to performing the rigorous, peer-reviewed science that leads to new diagnostic, rehabilitation, and therapeutic strategies for Veterans with spinal cord injury, stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), epilepsy, limb loss, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and other nervous system diseases or injuries. CfNN’s three Focus Areas are: (1) Restoring Communication and Mobility, (2) Restoring Mental Health, and (3) Restoring Limb and Sensory Function. The Focus Areas’ interdisciplinary research efforts are supported by three Cores providing essential infrastructure and specialized services: (A) Neuroimaging (B) Recording, Decoding, and Computational Neuroscience, and (C) Assessment, Outcome Measurement, and Implementation. CfNN research is further facilitated by a dedicated Administrative Team who support scientific productivity, coordinate the synergistic relationships between CfNN and its academic and clinical affiliates, maintain close contact with local and national VA officials, and optimize our research in service to Veterans. CfNN’s Strategic Plan and Research Strategy maximize interactions via complementary expertise and resources among its Focus Areas and Cores. This in turn supports a high-impact research community focused on application of medical devices to neurologic health, both within the VA and in the wider regional and national brain science community. Through this renewal, over the next five years CfNN will leverage and expand its collaborative research, both within VA Providence and together with other VA Centers, toward rehabilitation goals important to the large number of affected Veterans and their families. These goals include: restoring arm and leg function for Veterans with stroke, spinal cord injury, or amputation; improving and maintaining intuitive, rapid communication for Veterans with ALS; improving the understanding, early detection, and management of seizures; and more effectively treating Veterans with PTSD, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or other severe disorders of mental health. CfNN also aims to develop, validate, and disseminate the outcomes measures needed for effective clinical trials of new restorative neurotechnologies for these conditions. In addition to the research of its investigators, CfNN facilitates the training and research careers of outstanding early career researchers, seeking to recruit them together with established clinicians, scientists, and engineers to focus their research efforts on improving rehabilitation for Veterans with nervous system disease or injury. CfNN is committed to providing seed funding for pilot studies to enable affiliated investigators to launch promising research and collect preliminary data to inform and strengthen larger research projects, thereby strategically leveraging VA resources toward enabling the larger public and private investments required for pivotal demonstrations of clinical utility. Through its close association with Brown University, CfNN provides educational opportunities to undergraduates, graduate students, neuropsychology interns, and postdoctoral researchers to learn more about the VA, inspiring them to shape their careers toward not only gaining a better understanding of fundamental human neuroscience, but toward using that knowledge to improve Veterans Health and rehabilitation.