Brainwave "Balancing" Research Receives $1 Million Grant From The Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, Inc.

Additional One Million Dollars in Funding Expands the Scope of Neurological Research

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Jan. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the infusion of an additional $1 million of financial support from The Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, Inc., Atlanta, Ga., Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researchers are expanding their studies using a noninvasive, drugless therapy that may help to mitigate symptoms associated with a list of neurological conditions.

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High-resolution, relational, resonance-based, electroencephalic mirroring HIRREM or, as it's commercially known, Brainwave Optimization™ (a product created by Brain State Technologies, LLC, Scottsdale, Ariz.), is a noninvasive procedure that uses a computerized system designed to reflect the brain's frequencies back to itself using musical tones.  Resonance between the musical tones and the electrical circuits in a person's brain can bring balance to the two hemispheres of the brain and has shown reduced symptoms in a recent pilot study* of people with insomnia.

Previous seed funding from The Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, Inc., in 2011 and 2012, $729,000, supported the creation of the research program at Wake Forest Baptist directed by lead investigator Charles H. Tegeler, M.D., McKinney-Avant Professor of Neurology, director of Telestroke Services, and director of the Ward A. Riley Ultrasound Center, and his team. This new funding allows further study of HIRREM targeting four conditions, in specific populations. These projects will focus on use with the military for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), insomnia, and depression, studies of TBI in professional, college, and teenage athletes, as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Asperger Syndrome, in people ages 12 and older. 

"At a time when funding for research is very hard to find, the previous support from The Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, Inc., made possible the creation of this research program and allowed us to complete several pilot clinical studies," said Tegeler.  "We are eager to continue our efforts to scientifically evaluate the potential benefits of HIRREM as a safe, effective, noninvasive, non-drug therapy in conditions where such are lacking.  It is with deep gratitude to Susanne Collins that we accept this generous additional funding which not only allows continuation of this important research, but also expands the program to include many other patient groups for whom there is also great need.  Asperger Syndrome was just added to the list of projects due to the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School." 

The $1 million dollars of continued funding from The Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, Inc., also allows Tegeler to complete a placebo-controlled study for insomnia, and to expand current studies with the military.  Tegeler's team has also applied for additional funding through the Office of the Secretary of Defense for a study with active duty military personnel.  

*Editor's Note: The pilot study was published in the journal Brain and Behavior in October 2012 (28 OCT 2012, DOI: 10.1002/brb3.101); a methods paper was published in the journal, Brain and Behavior this month (14 JAN 2013, DOI: 10.1002/brb3.116).

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (www.wakehealth.edu) is a fully integrated academic medical center located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The institution comprises the medical education and research components of Wake Forest School of Medicine, the integrated clinical structure and consumer brand Wake Forest Baptist Health, which includes North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Brenner Children's Hospital, the creation and commercialization of research discoveries into products that benefit patients and improve health and wellness, through Wake Forest Innovations, as well as a network of affiliated community-based hospitals, physician practices, outpatient services and other medical facilities. Wake Forest School of Medicine is ranked among the nation's best medical schools and is a leading national research center in fields such as regenerative medicine, cancer, neuroscience, aging, addiction and public health sciences. Wake Forest Baptist's clinical programs have consistently ranked as among the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report for the past 20 years.

SOURCE Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center