Neuroimaging developments in particular have had a significant impact on our ability to identify and understand changes in cognition in the face of neurological illness and injury, as well as understand how cognitive rehabilitation is working.
Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, directs the Cognitive Functioning and Cognitive Rehabilitation Laboratory within Kessler Foundation's Center for Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Research, where she is director. The Lab team develops and tests new treatment protocols in randomized clinical trials to find effective ways to address learning and memory deficits. Researchers use task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to understand how cognitive rehabilitation works in the brain.
Dr. Chiaravalloti and her team successfully developed a non-invasive, non-pharmacological, cost-effective method to enhance cognitive function known as Kessler Foundation modified Story Memory Technique (KF-mSMT®), which is now used by clinicians across the U.S. and internationally. Ongoing research continues to explore KF-mSMT to better understand how individuals with traumatic brain injury and multiple sclerosis learn and remember new information, as well as to create additional treatment protocols.
National Institute on Disability Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research
National Institutes of Health
New Jersey Commission on Spinal Cord Injury Research
New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research
Laboratory Team
