U.S. Department of Defense Awards $2 Million to Brain Plasticity Inc. to Study Impact of Brain Training for Traumatic Brain Injuries ; Grant Will Support Clinical Trials with War Veterans

SAN FRANCISCO, June 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Brain PlasticityInc. (BPI), a technology incubator dedicated to the discovery anddevelopment of novel technologies that harness the basic principlesof brain plasticity to improve the lives of people with neurologicaland psychiatric disorders, was recently awarded a $2 million grantfrom the United States Department of Defense.

The grant will fund a two-year clinical trial of an internet-based program designed to improve cognitive function in peoplesuffering from cognitive impairment following mild traumatic braininjuries (TBI) as a result of active duty with the United StatesMilitary. The award of this grant reflects the tremendous promise ofbrain-plasticity-based cognitive training technology, which hasalready shown to be effective in more than a dozen clinical trialsin healthy aging, and is now entering clinical trials inschizophrenia and stroke rehabilitation.

TBI has been described as "the signature injury" of the Iraq andAfghanistan wars, with an estimated 32,243 thousand soldiers andveterans suffering from head injury in 2010 alone.(1) Theconsequences of TBI are enormous - the problems with memory,concentration, and thinking that accompany head injury cansignificantly impair a person's ability to return to family life,their job, and their role in their community.

Head injury is not a uniquely military problem - 1.7 millionpeople in the United States have such an injury every year, and 5.3million Americans have resulting lifelong disability.(2)

"TBI can ruin lives, and while existing cognitive therapies canbe helpful, they are often not enough. Brain-plasticity-basedcognitive training offers a fundamentally new approach to treatingthese disabling injuries, and because it is delivered over theinternet, it can reach every soldier and veteran in need," said Dr.Henry Mahncke, Chief Operating Officer at BPI and PrincipalInvestigator on the grant. "We are honored that the Department ofDefense has selected BPI and our cognitive training technology forthis grant. The trial will allow us to decisively demonstrate thatthe appropriate type of brain training program can have asignificant and long-term impact on the lives of these woundedwarriors."

The grant will fund a trial of 132 people suffering from ongoingcognitive impairment following TBI across five separate locations inthe United States, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center,Tripler Army Medical Center, VA Boston, VA Houston and VAConnecticut. The trial is anticipated to begin enrollingparticipants this year and be completed in 2013.

The technology used in this trial is derived from similar brain-plasticity-based cognitive training programs developed at SanFrancisco-based Posit Science, which continues to apply this coretechnology to develop new training programs that improve cognitivefunction in healthy individuals seeking to stay sharp and perform attheir best.

About BPI

Brain Plasticity, Inc. is a technology incubator dedicated to thediscovery and development of novel technologies that harness thebasic principles of brain plasticity to improve the lives of peoplewith neurological and psychiatric disorders with non-invasive, safe,clinically effective treatments. BPI works with a worldwide networkof researchers to design and evaluate novel treatments and isinitially focused on applying this technology to schizophrenia,brain injury, and movement disorders.

(1) "TBI Numbers by Severity: All Armed Forces," Defense MedicalSurveillance System (DMSS) and Theater Medical Data Store (TMDS),prepared by Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC)

(2) "TBI Stats," Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center and theCenters of Disease Control and Prevention

SOURCE Brain Plasticity Inc.