ISNR Research Awards for 2004

1-The first award is made to Mario Beauregard, PhD (Principal Investigator) and Johanne Levesque, PhD (Co-Investigator) of the Department of Psychology at the University of Montreal for their project "Effect of Neurofeedback Training on the Neural Substrate of Executive Deficits in ADHD Children." In this study standard instruments will assess the effectiveness of the NFT on attentional performance and fMRI will assess the effect of NFT on activation of the anterior cingulate cortex and (other areas of interest) while the participants perform attentional tasks. This study will be the first attempt at delineating the functional neuroplasticity associated with NFT. This project should greatly increase our knowledge and understanding of the neurobiological effects of NFT on the neural substrate of executive deficits in ADHD children. This is the first study to use an imaging measure of brain physiology other than EEG to assess the outcome of NFT. Funding from the ISNR research fund will be used for research salary, participant reimbursement and the cost of doing fMRI's

Study completed and published as

Beauregard M, Levesque J. Abstract: Functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation of the effects of neurofeedback training on the neural bases of selective attention and response inhibition in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2006 Mar;31(1):3-20.

and

Levesque J, Beauregard M, Mensour B. Effect of neurofeedback training on the neural substrates of selective attention in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Neurosci Lett. 2006 Feb 20;394(3):216-21. Epub 2005 Dec 15.

2- The second award is made to Marco F. Congedo, PhD of the IRISA (Institute for Research in Informatics and Random Systems), Rennes, France in support of his study, "A 3-D Real-Time Virtual Brain Navigation Environment for Immersive EEG Biofeedback." This study will be a further step in the development of more powerful neurofeedback paradigms through the creation of a true 3-dimensional real-time brain navigation system. Such a system should be able to record EEG from 19 to 64 locations and represent the 3-D brain activity as a virtual environment as close as possible to the actual human brain. It is being done within the SIAMES team (Computer Generated Images, Animation, Modeling and Simulation) located in the Institute for Research on Informatics and Random System (IRISA), Rennes, France. SIAMES (http://www.inria.fr/recherche/equipes/siames.en.html ) is a team of more then 20 engineers and computer science experts affiliated with two French National Institutes of Research (INRIA and CNRS) and with the University of Rennes II. According to Dr. Congedo, "possible applications of the technique include the treatment of epileptic foci, the treatment of specific brain regions damaged as a consequence of traumatic brain injury, and in general of any specific cortical electrical activity. The system can be used for research in Neurofeedback, Brain-Computer Interaction, and general electrophysiological research. The system will disclose a whole new universe of applications and will probably represent the most powerful and immersive real-time virtual representation of electrical brain activity to date." The outcomes of this study will be in the public domain. Funding from iSNR research fund will provide for electrocaps and other supplies. The bulk of the funding for this complex project will come from the French government.

The ISNR Research Fund committee is composed of Joel Lubar, PhD, James Evans, PhD, Cory Hammond, PhD, Vince Monastra, PhD, Tim Tinius, PhD and David Trudeau, MD (chair). The ISNR Research Fund invites proposals for funded research in neurotherapy of up to $20,000 per year renewable for up to five years. Special consideration will be given to proposals that involve large n multi-center studies for randomized controlled trials of a neurotherapy technique for remediation of MTBI, ADHD, PSUD or other conditions for which neurotherapy has been applied. The proposal may include the means for establishing a neurotherapy practice research network in order to complete its objectives. Fundable elements of the proposal may include monetary incentives for practitioners and client participants and salary for the Principal Investigator, who will be project coordinator. Continued funding year to year will be contingent on project performance and the success of ISNR in continuing fundraising. If the successful applicant is not a member of ISNR, the applicant will agree to accept complementary membership for the duration of the grant. Reviews

All applications were reviewed by a Research Grant Committee appointed by the ISNR Board. The ISNR Board will review the recommendations of the ISNR Research Grant Committee. ISNRResearch Grant Committee members may not apply.