About the NCRRN
Cognitive impairments are common after a variety of brain diseases and insults and are a source of persistent disability in many individuals. Such disabilities result in loss of independence, substantial economic costs, and emotional burden to those affected and their caregivers. Current approaches to cognitive rehabilitation lack a rigorous evidence base. Yet advances in cognitive neuroscience as well as a variety of neurophysiologic techniques set the stage to develop and test new therapies to improve cognitive function.
This Neuro-Cognitive Rehabilitation Research Network (NCRRN) is a collaborative effort of investigators at the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute and the University of Pennsylvania to provide research infrastructure support and expert consultation to individuals interested in pursuing cognitive rehabilitation research. The mission of the NCRRN, funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NCMRR/NICHD) is to:
- Synthesize and disseminate the tools necessary to refine promising treatments for cognitive impairment
- Understand their mechanisms of action
- Gather preliminary data about their clinical impact to support larger efficacy trials
Expertise in advanced neurophysiologic techniques (fMRI, ERP, TMS) is combined with sophistication in cognitive theory, behavioral experimental designs, medical informatics, and naturalistic functional assessment, and made available through web-based methods and courses and symposia tied to relevant professional meetings. The NCRRN also provides individualized research methods consultation, brief preceptorships for individuals seeking to learn focused skills, and pilot funding to allow investigators, in collaboration with the NCRRN, to gather preliminary data to support larger extramural funding proposals. A subject recruitment infrastructure within the NCRRN makes it feasible for visiting or remote collaborators to identify appropriate subjects for study during brief research visits.