Wolfe Puts HWS at the Forefront of Stroke Research
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Professor receives important grant for neurological
pilot study
(April 5, 2005) GENEVA, N.Y.—For years, victims of stroke
are forced to suffer through both mental and physical anguish
as they attempt to put their lives back on track. A stroke can
even cripple a victim’s motor function, making it impossible
for him or her to perform simple, everyday tasks.
Uta Wolfe, assistant professor of psychology, is trying to
change all that. She was recently awarded an important and
highly competitive grant from the National Institute for
Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
The award, totaling some $202,500, will be used to conduct
a small, three-year pilot study into the use of operant
conditioning to reverse visuomotor abnormalities. The grant is
also a boon for students, because Wolfe intends to use the
project as a way to introduce undergraduates to clinical
research and computer modeling.
The request for the grant came after Wolfe noted that
stroke victims often become conditioned against using certain
muscles or performing specific tasks because of the risk of
failure or the pain and stress associated with those actions.
The grant funds an experimental program designed to reverse
this negative conditioning, granting many victims of stroke a
chance to move on with their lives. Wolfe noted that she will
be collaborating with another researcher, Larry Maloney from
New York University, for the duration of the project.
NINDS is one of the National Institutes of Heath (NIH) and
a subsidiary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
It supports research on healthy and diseased brains and the
spinal cord. NINDS leads the country’s fight against stroke
from the campus of the NIH in Bethesda, Md. In the past NINDS
has patronized research into conditions such as epilepsy,
Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis,
autism, and many others.
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Wolfe's work and the grant were featured in the Wednesday,
April 6, Rochester
Business Journal.
Posted on Tuesday, April 05, 2005
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