Research Overview
Alzheimer Disease and Other Memory Disorders
Established by Dr. Piero Antuono in 1985, the Dementia Research Center provides comprehensive diagnostic, follow-up, and research services through its Memory Disorders Clinic, the Brain Autopsy Program, and an array of basic and clinical research protocols aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of dementia.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Neurology faculty conduct clinical trials of pharmacological agents for slowing the progression of ALS.
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Neuropsychology faculty study long-term outcomes in patients with ADHD.
Brain Tumors
The neuro-oncology program carries out clinical trials of chemotherapeutic and other experimental treatments for brain cancer, as well as fMRI studies of tumor angiogenesis aimed at improving early detection. Studies in the laboratory of Harry Whelan, MD, investigate the therapeutic effects of light-emitting diodes in pediatric brain cancer.
Epilepsy
Investigators in the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center conduct research focused on early detection and prevention of epilepsy, fMRI studies of brain mapping for surgical management of epilepsy, clinical trials of anticonvulsant medications, and basic research on epilepsy mechanisms using computational models and cortical slice preparations.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
FMRI is an advanced method for mapping brain functions using MRI scanners. MCW neurology faculty helped pioneer this technique in 1992 and have maintained continuous federal funding since then for a variety of basic research programs investigating normal cognitive processes and disorders of brain function. The Functional Imaging Research Center, under interim direction by Jeffrey Binder, MD, develops and maintains a state-of-the-art fMRI research infrastructure including two 3-Tesla MRI scanners dedicated full-time to human fMRI research, and a 9.4-Tesla scanner used for animal research.
Head Trauma
Thomas Hammeke, PhD, leads fMRI studies investigating the neural basis for cognitive dysfunction after closed head injury.
Language Processing
The Language Imaging Laboratory, co-directed by Jeffrey Binder, MD and Einat Liebenthal, DSc, along with Rutvik Desai, PhD, and Merav Sabri, PhD, investigates normal and impaired language functions using fMRI, event-related potentials (ERP), and neural network models. Clinical research focuses on new methods for language mapping prior to brain surgery and on understanding recovery from aphasia after stroke.
Magnetoencephalograpy (MEG)
Magnetoencephalograpy is a technique that measures the magnetic fields produced by electrical activity in neurons from the human brain. Our MEG program started in the Fall of 2008 and is dedicated to both clinical and research studies initiated by physicians and all investigators willing to obtain functional images of the brain 'in action', with millisecond time resolution.
MEG is used to evaluate patients from our Department and others, to map the brain and its functions prior to surgery and to develop innovative brain imaging methods for basic cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology. Sylvain Baillet, PhD, is scientific director of Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin's MEG program.
Parkinson's Disease
Movement disorders specialists participate in a variety of therapeutic trials of pharmacological agents and deep brain stimulation techniques for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease.
Sleep Physiology
The Sleep Research Laboratory, under the direction of Carol A. Everson, PhD, studies physiological consequences of sleep deprivation that may lead directly to impaired health.
Stroke and Neurovascular Disease
Neurology researchers in the Stroke and Neurovascular Center, including Diane Book, MD, conduct clinical trials of treatments for acute stroke and stroke prevention, as well as basic research on mechanisms of brain ischemia.