MRN in the News //

Persisting brain abnormalities four months post mild traumatic brain injury in children

October 20, 2022

Clinicians who treat children with mild traumatic injury (mTBI or concussions) currently have limited options for understanding the effects of injury on brain structure and function. Therefore, care providers do not really know about when the brain actually heals relative to clinical recovery (when the child says they feel better). A new study suggests that concussions result in changes to the brain’s white and grey matter microstructure that are not readily detected using traditional neuroimaging techniques. More importantly, these injuries may persist after the majority of children have reported symptom resolution. These findings may therefore have important implications about when it is truly safe for a child to resume physical activities that may produce a second concussion, potentially further injuring to an already vulnerable brain.

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Concussion’s Damage to Brain Lingers After Symptoms Fade: Study

November 20, 2013

HealthDay News -- Months after concussion symptoms such as dizziness, headaches and memory loss fade, the brain continues to show signs of injury, a new study suggests.

Comparing 50 concussion patients with the same number of healthy people, researchers found that the brains of those suffering concussions showed abnormalities four months later. This happened despite the fact that their symptoms had already eased to some degree.

The findings may sway conventional thinking about when it's safe to resume physical activities that could produce another concussion, the study authors said.

MRN and UNM Introduce ‘Brain Safe’ Project to Understand and Minimize Concussions on NCAA Athletes

October 9, 2013

Brain Safe Project to examine UNM athletes’ brains over course of careers

The nonprofit Mind Research Network (MRN) has partnered with the University of New Mexico (UNM) to introduce Brain Safe, an innovative, state-of-the-art sports-related concussion assessment program designed to study and minimize the impact of brain injury on NCAA athletes in contact sports.

More than 200 UNM athletes will receive a noninvasive MRI scan of brain structure, chemistry, connectivity and function at the beginning every season. Every year, or after any acute injury, the athlete will be scanned again and the results will be compared to their initial baseline MRI. Using this ‘within-subject’ design, the athlete’s baseline MRI scans can be precisely compared to post-injury scans. Highly sophisticated MRI analyses will be performed using algorithms developed by MRN and UNM scientists to identify any brain related injuries.

Dr. Kent Kiehl’s Lab featured on PBS’s “Brains On Trial” with Alan Alda

September 24, 2013

"Brains on Trial" with Alan Alda aired on PBS in two episodes September 11th and 18th. The Kiehl lab was featured in the second episode. To view the episodes for "Brains on Trail" and more information, please visit: http://www.pbs.org/program/brains-trial/

Mind Research Network Awarded $15 Million Grant

July 22, 2013

Mind Research Network Awarded $15 Million Grant to Develop New Tools to Better Understand the Human Brain and Mental Illness

Center for Biomedical Research Excellence Receives Prestigious Award From the National Institutes of Health

ALBUQUERQUE, NM--(Marketwired - Jul 22, 2013) - The Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) at Mind Research Network (MRN), in partnership with the University of New Mexico, has received a grant worth $15 million to study mental illness, positioning the institute as leader in brain imaging. Similar to the goal of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) BRAIN Initiative, the grant seeks to use evolving neurotechnologies to better understand brain disorders.

This award allows COBRE to expand its research on psychosis and mood disorders. The grant represents the second phase of the NIH Institutional Development Award (IDeA) funding for the Multidomal Imaging of Neuropsychiatric Disorders (MIND) study conducted by COBRE.

Vince Calhoun, Executive Science Officer at MRN and Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UNM, will continue to lead studies on schizophrenia and expand his research to include more disease categories with a goal of gaining a better understanding of the neural and genetic mechanisms of psychosis and mood disorders.

"The combination of state-of-the-art technology and tools to study the brain, novel interventions (e.g. brain stimulation) to study schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression and the involvement of interdisciplinary researchers from all over the world, will lead to new advances in our understanding of these very serious mental illnesses," Calhoun said.

"This is a huge boon for the research and biotech community of New Mexico, and solidifies the Mind Research Network as a national leader in bringing a multi-disciplinary approach to unlocking the brain's mysteries," said Dr. Robert Rubin, CEO of the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, which is affiliated with MRN. "This grant will allow Dr. Calhoun and his team to break new ground in the field of mind research."

The MIND COBRE study represents a collaboration of MRN researchers and the departments of Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Math and Statistics, Neurology, Neurosciences, Psychiatry, Psychology at UNM.

"Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence are thematic, multidisciplinary programs that develop faculty and institutional research capabilities in states that historically have had low levels of funding from the National Institutes of Health," said W. Fred Taylor, Ph.D., the IDeA program chief at NIH'S National Institute of General Medical Sciences. "This center developed a novel neuroimaging approach to study cognitive pathology in schizophrenia during the first 5 years of support. This next phase of support could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of psychotic and depressive disorders."

The MIND COBRE study is just one of many being performed at MRN, a nonprofit neurodiscovery center located on the UNM campus. The center was founded in 1998 has since become world-renowned bioscience institution.

Mind Research Network Scientist Vince Calhoun, PH.D., Receives Two Prestigious Academic Designations

November 29, 2012

ALBUQUERQUE – Vince Calhoun, Ph.D., professor at the University of New Mexico and Executive Science Officer at the Mind Research Network (MRN) located in Albuquerque, recently received fellowship designations for both the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

The organizations recognize Dr. Calhoun for his contributions to human brain research. One of Calhoun’s most significant accomplishments is his development of advanced algorithms that identify how brain regions ‘talk’ to one another either during a specific task or when at rest.

“We would like to congratulate Dr. Calhoun on these important recognitions from the scientific community,” said Dr. Robert Rubin, CEO of the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, which is affiliated with MRN. “Dr. Calhoun’s insights and hard work have helped to advance our knowledge of how the human brain works. He exemplifies the remarkable studies that are being conducted right here in New Mexico at the Mind Research Network.”

Dr. Calhoun’s research also examines the ways connections between regions of the brain are impaired during mental illness. Additionally, he has been a pioneer in the field of data fusion, a process that combines multiple complementary types of information such as brain function, brain structure and genetics to create a clearer image of the human brain.

Calhoun’s achievements are not limited to the designations by AAAS and IEEE. He also recently earned the A. Earl Walker Neuroscience Research Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to basic or clinical research in neuroscience by a member of the faculty in any UNM department.

For more information on American Association for the Advancement of Science, visit http://www.aaas.org. And, for more information on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, visit http://www.ieee.org.

About The Mind Research Network (MRN)

The Mind Research Network (MRN) is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and brain injury. Headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, MRN consists of an interdisciplinary association of scientists located at universities, national laboratories and research centers around the world and is focused on imaging technology and its emergence as an integral element of neuroscience investigation. MRN is affiliated with Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute. http://www.lrri.org; http://www.mrn.org.

Future Tense Event Recap: Will Neurolaw Change the Judicial System—and Does Free Will Exist?

October 22, 2012

Future Tense Event Recap: Will Neurolaw Change the Judicial System—and Does Free Will Exist?

Mind Over Matter: fMRI Imaging Peers into the Brain’s Activities

October 12, 2012

Mind Over Matter: fMRI Imgaing Peers into the Brain's Activities

How Electrical Brain Stimulation can Change the Way We Think

April 20, 2012

How Electrical Brain Stimulation can Change the Way We Think

Zap Your Brain Into the Zone: Fast Track on Pure Focus

February 6, 2012

Zap Your Brain Into the Zone: Fast Track on Pure Focus

Amping Up Brain Function: Transcranial Stimulation Shows Promise in Speeding Up Learning

December 9, 2011

Amping Up Brain Function: Transcranial Stimulation Shows Promise in Speeding Up Learning

Association of Material Interaction with Emotional Regulation in 4 and 9 Month Infants During the…

December 6, 2011

Association of Material Interaction with Emotional Regulation in 4 and 9 Month Infants During the Still Face Paradigm

MRN and the Airforce Team to Raise the Bar with Military Decision Making

October 26, 2011

MRN and the Airforce Team to Raise the Bar with Military Decision Making

Tanner Foundation Awards 10K to MRN

October 18, 2011

Tanner Foundation Awards 10K to MRN

MRN, UNM Sign MEG Agreement

January 19, 2011

MRN, UNM Sign MEG Agreement

Expect the Unexpected: Incidental findings create challenges in neuroimaging research

August 2, 2010

Expect the Unexpected: Incidental findings create challenges in neuroimaging research

MRN in the News //

Persisting brain abnormalities four months post mild traumatic brain injury in children

Concussion’s Damage to Brain Lingers After Symptoms Fade: Study

MRN and UNM Introduce ‘Brain Safe’ Project to Understand and Minimize Concussions on NCAA Athletes

Dr. Kent Kiehl’s Lab featured on PBS’s “Brains On Trial” with Alan Alda

Mind Research Network Awarded $15 Million Grant

Mind Research Network Scientist Vince Calhoun, PH.D., Receives Two Prestigious Academic Designations

Future Tense Event Recap: Will Neurolaw Change the Judicial System—and Does Free Will Exist?

Mind Over Matter: fMRI Imaging Peers into the Brain’s Activities

How Electrical Brain Stimulation can Change the Way We Think

Zap Your Brain Into the Zone: Fast Track on Pure Focus

Amping Up Brain Function: Transcranial Stimulation Shows Promise in Speeding Up Learning

Association of Material Interaction with Emotional Regulation in 4 and 9 Month Infants During the…

MRN and the Airforce Team to Raise the Bar with Military Decision Making

Tanner Foundation Awards 10K to MRN

MRN, UNM Sign MEG Agreement

Expect the Unexpected: Incidental findings create challenges in neuroimaging research

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