Official site of the Laboratory for Brain Recovery and Function

Lab Director Shaun Boe, along with Tim Bardouille and Matt MacLellan from BIOTIC, have received $40K to support the commercial development of an EEG-based headset for providing neurofeedback during motor imagery. The feedback provided through the headset will guide patients while performing motor imagery, improving the effectiveness of imagery in rehabilitation with the goal of leading to better recovery. This Early Stage Commercialization Funding (ESCF) is through Innovacorp, Nova Scotia’s early stage venture capital organization.

New work from the lab shows that inhibitory brain stimulation – stimulation that temporarily turns down activity in parts of the brain – can prevent learning. The work, recently accepted for publication in Experimental Brain Research, was part of lab member Sarah Kraeutner’s MSc thesis. Sarah shows that when a person uses motor imagery to learn a new task, but activity in the parietal cortex is inhibited, they’re unable to learn. The work provides good information about how learning through motor imagery occurs, as well as identifying people who might not be able to use imagery for learning.

Target sites for inhibitory brain stimulation using rTMS.

Research from the Laboratory was recently featured as part of a campus-wide campaign called ‘Know your Dal’. Lab Director Shaun Boe did a pop-up lecture for members of the University community, highlighting work in the lab focusing on learning and rehabilitation after neurological injury, and the role of technology such as brain computer interface (BCI) for aiding learning.