Mind Research Network researchers view a cross-section picture of the brain that was captured by magnetic resonance imaging.
Looking Into that "Black Box"
December 2007 / January 2008
Volume 5 Number 6
The Mind Research Network in Albuquerque, is getting to the root of how to better diagnose and treat mental illness and brain disease. Founded in 1998, the nonprofit organization is an association of scientists at universities, national laboratories and research centers who are combining state-of-the-art neuroimaging technologies with other scientific disciplines to better understand addiction, traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia and more.
While the Network focuses primarily on clinical research, the organization will likely commercialize a number of its technologies in coming years. And officials hope to eventually patent and make available to the public the neuroimaging techniques they're developing to diagnose and treat mental illness and brain diseases.
"In the case of the Mind Research Network, we're really more focused on research than creating commercial spinoffs" says John Rasure, president and CEO. "The real big thing will be when we transition our neurodiagnostic techniques from research to practice."
Mental illness and neurological disorders affect more than 57 million Americans, and are the leading causes of disability and lost years of productive life in the world, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health.
The original mission of the Mind Research Network, formerly known as The MIND Institute, was to build state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetoencephlaogram (MEG) neuroimaging systems to be used to study mental illness. The mission has expanded to include clinical research that blends neuroimaging, genetics and neuroinformatics —€”the ability to analyze, store and more efficiently use various types of research data.
The network is currently working with about $30 million in research grants. Funding covers several areas of research that include addiction, neuroinformatics, psychopathy, positive neuroscience, schizophrenia and infrastructure. The National Institutes of Health provide most of the organization's grants.
Some of the network's partners are the University of Minnesota and the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Brain Sciences Center, Massachusetts General Hospital's Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, the University of New Mexico, Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories and the State of New Mexico.
The organization's Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Research program is one example of a "technique" that may have commercial applications. The network is using multimodal imaging with neurocognitive and psychiatric assessment to understand changes in brain function as a result of a brain injury. The goal is to provide accurate and rapid diagnosis, select appropriate therapy for patients and to individualize therapy to better the outcome.
The Functional Imaging for Research and Schizophrenia Treatment (FIRST) Program is researching the causes and early diagnosis and prognosis of schizophrenia.
The research uses imaging techniques that pinpoint brain regions that may be overactive or underactive in subjects with the disease. And the research is investigating links between genetics and schizophrenia.
"The brain used to be thought of as a black box, something that could only be understood by behavior," says Rasure. "Now it's all about the brain and trying to discover exactly what's going on in the brain. Let's look inside the black box."
The Mind Research Network is also developing a Neuroinformatics Core. Neuroinformatics is a hybrid of neuroscience and computer science that integrates all of the varying types of data gathered from research. The core, located at the Albuquerque headquarters, is responsible for data security, querying, reporting, analyzing, summarizing and archiving.
Rasure says some of the organization's techniques are only a few years away from being scientifically sound. But they will probably not be commercially viable for another 10 years, because most will require extensive FDA approval. One technology that may be a little closer to commercialization is the babySQUID® (short for super-conducting quantum interference device). Developed and patented by Yoshio Okada, professor of neurology and neurosciences at the University of New Mexico and site director for the Mind Research Network at UNM, babySQUID translates magnetic fields into electronic potential. A prototype, which looks kind of like a helmet, has been used at the network to measure the brain function of infants and children.
"There's nothing comparable to babySQUID in the world," says Okada. He and a small group of field investigators have made three interesting discoveries with the device so far. The first is that after a brain injury, the brain does not just re-organize the damaged side; it re-organizes both hemispheres and uses all of its remaining functions to maximize performance. These initial findings have potential applications in working with children with cerebral palsy, says Okada.
The device helped researchers discover a high frequency signal in the brains of epileptic children that is a potential biomarker of seizures. It may also have found a biomarker of epileptic genesis, which refers to the initial onset of seizures in a child.
And babySQUID has measured the speed of communication between different parts of the brain in children with autism. Initial findings showed the brain of an autistic child who is 36 months old fires at a rate comparable to a six-month-old normal child, says Okada.
Okada is seeking venture capital to further develop the technology. "If it works as I think it should the commercial potential is enormous," he says. The device could be standard equipment in hospitals to help detect autism in babies.
Another technology with commercial potential is the Mind Input Device. Rasure says it addresses challenges researchers face when trying to collect subject responses while testing in a magnetic environment such as an MRI machine.
Handheld communication devices that are metallic interfere with the MRI's signal. The patented cast-like device is made of 100 percent plastic and fiber optic parts, making it magnetically and RF inert. It is intended for use in MRI or MEG (magnetoencephalography) environments. Five optical buttons are inside the thermoplastic cast that is secured to the forearm by a Velcro strap. An optical cable connects the cast to amplifiers placed outside of the magnetic room.
Rasure says he would like to see the network take neuroimaging and research techniques to the point where they are available to the public. "Right now," he says, "we feel like it's more obtainable to go after diagnosis. Next is better treatment and eventually finding a cure."
Eric Billingsley is a freelance writer based in Albuquerque.
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