Director: Umesh “Umi” Venkatesan, PhD

Overview

The Brain Trauma and Behavior Laboratory studies the cognitive and functional health of individuals with a remote history of moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (chronic TBI) as well as older individuals with recent-onset TBI. One of its major goals is to characterize the potential for and optimize the detection of pathological brain aging in TBI. To this end, the lab uses cognitive neuroscientific approaches to identify or develop behavioral assessments and potential treatment interventions that are informed by neurobiological models of TBI and aging. More recently, the lab has begun to learn about potential sociological and environmental influences on cognition and function, and their role in shaping outcome trajectories.

Programs of Research

• Cognitive, functional, and neurobiological characterization of older adults with chronic TBI
• Neuropsychological and neuroimaging methods for evaluating neurodegenerative disease risk or prodrome in chronic TBI
• Assessment of episodic memory in chronic TBI
• Pre-, peri-, and post-injury health considerations (e.g., vascular risk factors) for outcome in older adults with recent TBI
• Using biopsychosocial perspectives (e.g., health literacy) to inform outcome trajectories and long-term health status of survivors of TBI

People

Research Assistant:

Stephanie Wolfert, BA