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About the BRRC
In 1999, the Brain Rehabilitation Research Center of Excellence was funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs
Rehabilitation Research and Development Office and by a Program Project through the National Institutes of Health. The
Center was located at the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center in Gainesville, Florida and has been housed in the Nursing
Home Care Unit. Research completed by investigators at the facility has continued to advance our knowledge and understanding
of the mechanisms of the brain and has contributed to improved clinical practice and delivery of care to veterans.
Initially, the Brain Rehabilitation Research Center focused on three major research initiatives directed toward
rehabilitation of cognitive and motor deficits resulting from brain impairments. Specifically, researchers study the
incidence and functional impact of cognitive or motor deficits resulting from disorders of the cerebrum, develop effective
management or neurological disorders that combine physical and behavioral treatments, and finally to look at outcomes of
new rehabilitation. In 2000, the neuroimaging core was initiated and funded by the National Institutes of Health. The
neuroimaging initiative focused on studying the biological and physiologic underpinnings of change associated with recovery
after brain damage in association with rehabilitation. As the Center has continued to grow, the Motor Initiative expanded
to include experts and new rehabilitation targeting locomotor (walking and gait), upper extremity (arm and hand), and
oral motor (speech, voice and swallowing). The Human Motor Performance Laboratory opened in 2004, to measure motor changes
before and after rehabilitation in a comprehensive multidisciplinary setting. Most recently, the Center and the University
of Florida partnered to support two neuroscientists to incorporate the principles of animal research and evaluate application
to behavioral treatments in humans.
The graphic below depicts a timeline with the emergence of the focused research initiatives and cores.
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