Luncheon Lectures Make Every Minute Count
With so many connections to make and things to learn at the ACRM Annual Conference, you won’t want to stop just for lunch. Why not have your cake and eat it too?
Add up to four engaging, CE eligible luncheons to your registration and make every minute count! In response to attendee feedback, ACRM is please to expand the offering of educational luncheons to include FOUR exciting opportunities.
NEUROPLASTICITY GROUP LUNCHEON WITH SPEAKER
WED, 28 OCT
Sponsored by the new ACRM Neuroplasticity Group, this luncheon features special guest speaker, Randolph J. Nudo, PhD.
Zen and the Art of Brain Repair
The current dogma in neurorehabilitation is that recovery after acquired brain injury is due to the phenomenon widely known as neuroplasticity. Hence, virtually all new therapeutic interventions designed to promote recovery are couched in contemporary neuroplasticity jargon. But across various scientific subspecialties, the term has come to mean everything from synaptogenesis to local changes in neural activity or blood flow to altered behavior. It’s also used (and sometimes misused) to explain the underlying “power” attributed to countless products in the brain fitness market. As many other scientists in the field have observed, the term is now so ubiquitous and ambiguous that it has ceased to be pragmatic, since it is very likely to be misinterpreted both within and across disciplines. In this lecture, Dr. Nudo will explore the relevance of this elusive concept in the context of brain repair, paying homage to Robert Pirsig’s Seventies best-seller, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Dr. Nudo is professor and vice chair of Research, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and the director of the Landon Center on Aging at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Nudo’s Cortical Plasticity Laboratory focuses on understanding the brain’s self-repair capacity after injury, and developing novel therapeutic approaches based on neuroscientific principles.
BRUCKER INTERNATIONAL LUNCHEON
THU, 29 OCT
Sponsored annually by the International Networking Group (ING) in honor of Dr. Bernard 
Brucker, the Brucker International Luncheon has become an ACRM tradition. The event spotlights renowned international speakers and rehabilitation research topics of global interest.
In 2015, the ING is proud to welcome invited speaker, Elik Vakil, PhD who will share his important research on memory impairment.
Dissociation Between Memory Processes: The Contribution of Research on Memory Impairment Following Traumatic Brain Injury
Deficient memory and learning skills are frequently reported consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, since TBI frequently leads to widespread, diffuse axonal injury, patients with TBI are not the ideal group for studying brain-behavior relations. With the continuing improvements of neuroimaging techniques, it has likely become possible to apply the method of double dissociation between cognitive processes and corresponding brain regions even for individuals with TBI. Dr. Vakil will discuss how studying this group could contribute to our understanding of the configuration of memory processes and could ultimately contribute to the assessment and rehabilitation of this patient population.
Dr. Vakil is a professor and former departmental chairman in the Department of Psychology and the head of the Memory and Amnesia lab at the Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center at Bar Ilan University. He is also director of the Rehabilitation Center for Veterans After Traumatic Brain-Injury (TBI) in Jaffa, Israel.
NDD NG LUNCHEON WITH SPEAKER
THU, 29 OCT
The Neurodegenerative Diseases Networking Group (NDD NG) is pleased to sponsor their second annual educational luncheon with speaker, Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD, presenting Without BrainHealth, We do NOT have Health.
The adult brain retains immense potential to reorganize in health and injury/disease. My talk will share exciting new developments in identifying promising biomarkers of brain health and brain reserve. Sensitive brain health metrics have practical benefits for efficiently evaluating novel neurotherapeutic offerings. Emerging regenerative brain interventions are providing hope for targeted plasticity by combining focal neural stimulation (neuro-devices) with cognitive trainings. Early evidence suggests greater brain reorganization possible with implications for a wide array of neurologic diseases/symptoms. Moreover, imagine being able to pre-assess individual potential for plastic reorganization prior to deploying treatments. Brainomics underscores major economic gain from brain health advances.
Dr. Chapman is the Dee Wyly Distinguished University Professor at the University of Texas at Dallas and founder and chief director of the Center for Brain Health.
SCI-ISIG LUNCHEON WITH SPEAKER
FRI, 30 OCT
The Spinal Cord Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group (SCI-ISIG) will sponsor an educational luncheon with speaker, Edelle Field-Fote, PhD, PT presenting Reactivate, Rewire, Restore: Challenging the Nervous System to Optimize Function after SCI.
Evidence suggests that spinal cord and brain mechanisms underlying the control of movement adapt in response to afferent inputs such as stimulation and vibration. This beneficial neural adaptation, or adaptive neuroplasticity, is supportive of function and may counter the maladaptive plasticity that is associated with pathology of the nervous system. Using what is known about neural responses to afferent input, treatment strategies can be structured to incorporate stimulation and vibration into training programs to improve motor function.
Dr. Edelle Field-Fote is a leading neuroscientist and director of spinal cord injury research at Shepherd Center. She is internationally renowned for her work in motor recovery after spinal cord injury. Save the date and invite a colleague to join you for a stimulating and informative lunch.
*Although significant changes are not anticipated, all schedules, sessions, and presenters posted on this website are subject to change.
