A Community Collaboration Between IU Health and St. Vincent Health
Current Studies & Research
Post-TBI Irritability & Aggression: Building Evidence-Based Approaches to Management

       Flora Hammond, MD (PI), James Malec, PhD (Co-PI), Jacob Kean, PhD, Susan Perkins, PhD, Patrick Monahan, PhD, funded by National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).   Treatment… Read More

Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana Research Participant Registry

James Malec, Ph.D. – Principal Investigator The purpose of RHI’s Research Participant Registry is to create a RHI Research Participant Registry of individuals who are interested in participating or who… Read More

Methylphenidate (Ritalin) and Memory/Attention in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Brenna McDonald, Psy.D., Flora Hammond, MD, Gwen Sprehn, Ph.D.  Funded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) A   randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind design, comparing the… Read More

Neurobiological mechanisms underlying affect recognition deficits after brain injury

Dawn Neumann, PhD (PI), Wang Yang, PhD, Brenna McDonald, PhD, Arlene Schmid, PhD.  Indiana University Collaborative Research Grants (IUCRG). The ability to recognize how others feel (affect recognition) helps us… Read More

Couples Caring and Relating with Empathy-Brain Injury Program (Couples CARE): A skills-based intervention to improve marital satisfaction and adjustment after brain injury

Samantha Backhaus, PhD (PI), Dawn Neumann, PhD, Taryn Skejstal, PhD, funded by Indiana Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Fund (ISCBIRF).   This is a 2-year study that will be… Read More

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An Exploration of the Hypocholinergic Hypothesis of Delirium following Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) February 25th, 2009

Jacob T. Kean, Ph.D., Principal Investigator

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often causes delirium (confusion and sometimes
agitation) in patients recovering from these types of events. One of the neurochemical
systems that stabilize the brain, the acetylcholine system, often becomes unbalanced
when injuries like this occur, often worsening confusion. We suspect that some drugs that
are used with these kinds of injuries create further imbalances in this system.
Currently Dr. Jacob Kean is conducting a study to determine whether a specific class of
drugs (anticholinergic) could be aggravating this imbalance in these patients. Should
this study point to a connection between some of these drugs and the imbalance of the
acetylcholine system, it could suggest better outcomes may be achieved by limiting
the use of these drugs in patients with brain injuries, including reducing confusion and
potentially enhancing the speed of recovery.