To design the five-level, $75 million HealthPartners Neuroscience Center opening Monday at 295 Phalen Boulevard, directors traveled as far as the Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in Cambridge, Mass., for ideas on how tokeep the atmosphere patient-friendly and aggressively state-of-the-art.

A recent tour of the facility illustrates that approach.

Inside the 130,000-square-foot facility, video cameras linked to two underwater treadmills record and analyze the gait of stroke victims in a climate-controlled therapy pool. A floor below, 16 privately-funded researchers surrounded by beakers, microscopesand hypersensitive digital scales search for cures to dementia and Alzheimers disease.

A floor above, images displayed on large flat-screen wall monitors will show patients the interior of their own tumors, spines and frontal lobes, a visual road map to complicatedmedical conditions. Clinical trials, physical rehab, patient diagnosis and lab work will all happen in the same building.

It was a really long journey making sure every aspect of the building was patient-centric, said Marny Farrell, the centers director of rehabilitation for outpatient services.

The result is anoutpatient clinical, rehab and research space dedicated to virtually any kind of neurological condition, from stroke trauma to spinal injuries, and dementiato amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

More than 50,000 patients a year are expected to use the new center, which will employ some 200 physicians and staffers.

More importantly, the centercombines neuroscience specialties under one roof, allowing them room to expand. And it frees up needed space at Regions and at HealthPartners two nearby clinical centers, at 401 and 435 Phalen Boulevard, where research and medical services also are growing.

As a result, rather than travel between three or more locations for care, dementia patients will be able to schedule an X-ray or MRI and meet with nutritionists, speech pathologists and other experts on the same day and in the same facility.

Before, it was very hard for patients to know where to go, said Dr. Bret Haake, chief medical officer with Regions Hospital, who oversaw much of the centers planning. In many academic centers, sometimes theres a lot of distance between what the lab is doing and applying it to patients.

Patients will range from hospital referrals to walk-ins, and services are being scheduled around specific types of neurological conditions.

The centers second and third floors are devoted to clinical care such as pain management, neuro-psychology and clinical research.

Large sliding doors on patient care rooms have been designed with wheelchairs in mind. Services have been segregated by noise and intensity, so a Gingko Coffeehouse and gym-like rehab center on the ground level are well removed from a meditation room and quiet areas where families might await a loved ones diagnosis.

From the rehab center, glass bay windows provide a ready line-of-sight to Regions Hospital and downtown St. Paul, as well an outdoor space fashioned with wide stone steps a practice walking area designed with stroke patients in mind.

Indoors, an overhead harness system linked to a programmable robot is capable of carrying up to 95 percent of the weight of a 450-pound patient, or as little as 5 percent. Sliding levels of support are designed to help patients regaining their ambulatory skills after a stroke or injury.

In a lower-level laboratory, groups of researchers are juggling some 40 projects related to neurological disorders, about half of them dedicated to Alzheimers. Among them, theyll publish between 10 and 20 academic papers annually. Their research tends to draw more private grants and donations than government funding, allowing greater flexibility.

Our work tends to be more cutting edge, based on prevention of brain and spine disease high risk, high reward, said Leah Hanson, senior director of neuroscience research.

Phalen Boulevard has had the early makings of a modern medical corridor; in 2005, HealthPartners built the first of two specialty centers with clinics that range in focus from ears, nose and throat to hands and plastics. The specialty center at 405 Phalen Boulevard opened that year, and 435 Phalen Boulevard opened in 2007.

The new Neuroscience Centerreplaced a smaller HealthPartners physical therapy clinic, as well as a private storage facility, and could help boost the health care companys visibility.

The structure was designed by BWBR Architects and built by Kraus-Anderson Construction.

Residents will be able to examine the finished product from the inside during a community open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 13.

More here:
$75 million neuroscience center opens on Phalen Boulevard, St ... - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

To err is human, as the saying goes. And in many ways, when we learn from what goes wrong, we become better people. But, as Laurel Hamers of Science News reports, neuroscience now shows that, when you screw up, there's a right way and a wrong way to respond.

To take a hard look at how the brain reacts to mistakes, a team of researchers led by psychologist George Buzzell had 23 individuals look at concentric circles flashed briefly on a screen. In each challenge, the colors of the circles were either the same or slightly different. The participants' had to identify the sameness or difference by raising one hand or the other.

Buzzell and his team found that the individuals participating in the study typically answered the challenge following a mistake correctly if given a second or two to recoup. But they performed worse when they weren't allowed as much recovery time after a mistake, with accuracy dropping approximately 10 percent when time between an error and a new color challenge fell to 0.2 seconds. Buzzell also looked at electrical activity from the visual cortex, the part of your brain that receives and processes information from your eyes. That data showed that making a mistake negatively affected how much the participants paid attention to the next color challenge.

Buzzell's results prove that, as the brain processes a mistake, it's temporarily distracted, making it harder for you to pay attention and move on without additional errors. It explains from a scientific perspective the dreaded snowball effect of screwups, where once you've made a mistake, if you don't have any recovery time, you keep making more blunders.

Most people become at least a little self-conscious after making a mistake. We become afraid that others will judge us as being incompetent--or just generally not good enough--because of the error. And that's terrifying, because if we're not good enough, there's very little (we believe) to stop others from kicking us to the curb and forgetting us. We don't want to be alone. On some level, we don't believe we'll survive if we are. And to pour salt in the wound, the spotlight effect, which causes people to think others are noticing things about them that they probably aren't, only magnifies our fear. We have to cope with all of this on top of what's happening in the visual cortex.

The above research should make it clear that you're not doing yourself any favors if you try to rush and immediately plow through to the next thing when a mistake happens. To get back on track and reduce the odds you keep messing up:

Remember, different situations are going to require different recovery options. It's easier to doodle at your desk, for instance, than it is onstage. But the key is to find something, any positive diversion, that gives your brain the second it needs to process and reset when you goof. Experiment to find your personal go-tos, and watch how much pressure you put on yourself. You're only human, and believe it or not, people are surprisingly approving of taking the time to do things right. You don't need to rush it, and nobody expects you to be perfect. They just expect you to try.

Read the rest here:
How to Keep Mistakes From Snowballing, According to Neuroscience - Inc.com

The best things in life often take time. Thats why Georgia Techs newest major has been in the works for years. The much-anticipated Bachelors of Science in Neuroscience is the latest addition to Georgia Techs offerings.

It is easy to forget how much behind-the-scenes hard work goes into putting something like this together and making it a beneficial and smooth addition to the campus. Many faculty including Dr. Tim Cope have tirelessly worked to create a program that is the most beneficial as possible for students that might be interested in neuroscience.

Dr. Cope is a faculty member in the School of Biological Sciences, a neuroscientist, and the new director of the Neuroscience Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. In collaboration with faculty members and administration from across the schools on campus as well as universities all over the state, Dr. Cope and his colleagues have created a program that is not only meticulously crafted, but promises to offer a student experience that no other school in the state can offer.

Georgia Tech has a long tradition in quantitative science and applied science, so neuroscience here will be more technologically oriented, Cope said. Thats the tradition and the expectation on the part of the students and faculty.

Students in neuroscience will take required classes that will bestow upon them knowledge in three main focus areas: cellular and molecular biology, systems and behavior and cognitive science. After they get the basics down, students from a wide diversity of interests and backgrounds will largely be free to explore what interests them the most about neuroscience.

In an effort to facilitate this exploration, the neuroscience major will include ten Breadth Elective Specializations, which were designed by experts in the field. These specializations are biochemistry, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, mathematics, psychology, physics, physiology and pre-med.

Cope says that this is one of the virtues of neuroscience; it is by nature multidisciplinary and multidimensional, and can be investigated by a variety of avenues. Techs program intends to utilize many of these dimensions in a unique way.

In order to understand how brain and nervous systems work, we have to understand psych, cell biology, optics, physics, computer science and mathematics, Cope said. Our students will have all of those things. Look at what a rich intellectual environment that is. We have to bring all the info together, assimilate it and use it to figure out whats going on.

It seems that neuroscience is a rapidly evolving field, and will fit right in with other advancing topics at Tech. The faculty involved are confident that graduates will have no shortage of opportunities when its time to look for a job.

There is no human activity that I can think of that doesnt absolutely include some reliance on neuroscience, said Cope. There are so many exciting technical breakthroughs right now. There is an evidence based expectation that we are beginning to see some really important discoveries.

Neuroscience at Tech has already attracted a respectable amount of attention, with close to 100 students expressing interest in the program.

Cope says that one of their biggest challenges at this time is the unpredictability of how many students will be interested, but he and his colleagues are definitely optimistic.

One student who jumped at the chance to be one of Techs first neuroscience students was Maria Krakovski, first-year BIOL.

They tailored it super well, so I didnt waste any credits, Krakovski says. I was really happy to switch to it because its basically directed toward my interests more.

Krakovskis breadth elective specialization is pre-med, and she says she is pumped to be able to take classes that help her learn about the processes and systems of the body and how the body and brain communicate.

The major is now accepting current Tech students who wish to change their major, and will soon welcome incoming freshmen.

The enthusiasm is really very strong, Cope said. We are interested in being very creative in our delivery of the courses. We are trying to develop active learning and hands on experiences.

The various faculty members, students and supporters of the neuroscience major are anxious for the upcoming semesters and are excited to see their hard work pay off.

Here is the original post:
Tech establishes Neuroscience major - Technique

Neurologists Tim Freyaldenhoven and Keith Schluterman have combined their practices into a partnership with Conway Regional Health System to form the Conway Regional Neuroscience Center.

Previously the two physicians operated Arkansas Neurology in Conway.

The Conway Regional Neuroscience Center opened Feb. 20 and is located in suite 305 on the third floor of the Conway Regional Medical Plaza at the same location as the physicians clinics. Current patients should expect few changes.

Our patients will continue to have the same physicians and same excellent staff in place, Dr. Freyaldenhoven said. A major change for us is that we will get to focus more time on clinical care and less on business operations. This partnership secures neurology coverage for Conway Regional and will enable them to recruit additional neurologists to help us accommodate the needs of Faulkner County.

This will also lessen our anxiety regarding insurance coverage and fee schedule changes as well as inflation of practice costs, Dr. Schluterman said. We believe this partnership will improve continuity of care. Medical records will become more integrated and a patients clinical care can be directly carried over to hospital admissions.

Conway Regional President and CEO Matt Troup said, We will manage the business side of the practice so Dr. Freyaldenhoven and Dr. Schluterman can focus on patient care both in the center and in the hospital.

Troup added, The creation of the Conway Regional Neuroscience Center is part of our ongoing efforts to partner with our physicians. The center provides a vehicle for us to expand neurological and sleep services to the community. By aligning with Dr. Freyaldenhoven and Dr. Schluterman, we can grow their practice. It is significant that all the neurologists in Conway are aligned with Conway Regional. This will enable us to recruit to a specialty that is experiencing a national shortage. A study published in the Neurologist, the Journal of the American Academy of Neurology, indicated that the national shortage of neurologists is expected to grow to a 19 percent shortfall by 2025.

We are excited for this partnership with Drs. Schluterman and Freyaldenhoven. Its becoming more common for hospitals outside of major metropolitan areas to struggle with a consistent neurology presence, said Rebekah Fincher, Corporate Director of Physician Relations and Business Development. This partnership ensures neurology care for the community and provides Conway Regional the ability to grow and expand the neuroscience service line.

Drs. Freyaldenhoven and Schluterman have shared the same office space since 2004 and have been friends since medical school.

Both of them received their medical degrees from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences at Little Rock.

They have provided neurological care to Faulkner and surrounding counties since 2002, when Dr. Freyaldenhoven joined the Conway Regional Medical Staff. Dr. Schluterman followed in 2004. They are both graduates of Hendrix College.

Both physicians are board certified in general neurology and sleep medicine, and the next step will be partnering with Conway Regional to open a sleep disorders center at Conway Regional Medical Center.

Neurologists are physicians who treat illnesses of the brain and neurological system, including multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, migraine headaches, Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers disease, neuropathies, and sleep disorders as well as the effects of strokes.

The Conway Regional Neuroscience Center has seven staff members, all of whom work for Conway Regional. Drs. Freyaldenhoven and Schluterman are not employed by the health system.

A referral from a primary care physician is required to make an appointment with a neurologist. The phone number for the center is the same as the two neurologists offices, 501-932-0352.

The rest is here:
Health system, neurologists partner to form Conway Regional Neuroscience Center - Log Cabin Democrat