MENDING THE MIND
services and the VA, could provide valu- able insight into what treatments are working and for whom.
Currently there are different systems for defining and noting the severity of con- cussion, TBI, and PTS, as well as a lack of longitudinal data to illuminate the dif- ferences between those who recover from trauma and those who do not. More work among disciplines is needed so that find- ings can be built into training, treatment, and decompression procedures.
TATRC continues to support an organized research effort focused on three outcomes:
VIRTUAL-REALITY EXPERIENCES
Researchers at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies are developing and testing virtual-reality assessment tools that mimic combat environments in Afghanistan and Iraq, for return-to-duty decisions after brain or psychological injury. They have also been developing virtual environments for stress resiliency training and for exposure therapy to treat post-traumatic stress. (Image courtesy of Dr. Albert “Skip” Rizzo.)
growth. In her studies, even aged rats learned faster with exercise.
Other benefits of exercise, such as improved mood and sleep, could greatly enhance mental health among deployed service members. In fact, many hypoth- esize that sleep is a natural protectant that can reduce some of the damage to the brain after trauma. In a study published in 2010, Dr. Thomas C. Neylan, Direc- tor of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorders Program at the San Francisco VA Medi- cal Center and part of the Army-funded Neuroscience Center of Excellence, found that poor sleep quality was associated with a smaller hippocampal volume. If sleep disruptions can negatively affect this region where new neurons emerge, then perhaps improving sleep conditions or treating sleep disorders can improve neu- rogenesis and cognitive functions.
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Because sleeplessness is the most common complaint in both mild brain injury and PTS, Neylan is exploring the possibility of promoting sleep by antagonizing the brain’s receptors for corticotrophin-releasing fac- tor (CRF), a type of neurotransmitter involved in anxiety-related arousal control. He hopes that his tests of a CRF antago- nist may lead to safer sleep medications.
SHARING DATA Data sharing and common standards would greatly improve the progress of research toward effective solutions. Sepa- rate research efforts on both the civilian and military sides would benefit from a common data repository that all could access. Developing means to share access to the massive amount of data from cur- rent research on Soldiers and veterans, as well as completing effective transfer of medical information between the active
Army AL&T Magazine
Simple, pragmatic tools for brain “first aid” in the field.
Interventions to prevent a vicious cycle of cellular damage after injury.
Interventions to prevent and treat development of neurodegenerative conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s, and to prevent other chronic problems.
TATRC partners with other USAMRMC programs, such as the Combat Casualty Care Research Program and the Military Operational Medicine Research Program, to provide important leadership in military-focused research efforts. For more information on TATRC’s research funding and collaborative opportunities, visit
www.tatrc.org.
COL KARL E. FRIEDL is Director of the Telemedicine and Advanced Technol- ogy Research Center at U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Fort De- trick, MD. He holds a B.A. and M.A. in zoology from the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) and a Ph.D. in biol- ogy from UCSB’s Institute of Environmental Stress. Friedl is also a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
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