Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute has several ongoing research studies that recruit volunteers to participate as research subjects. Some projects offer participants a small payment for their participation. Our rehabilitation research currently includes the following projects:

 

Attention and Working Memory

• Pharmacological Rehabilitation of Attention Deficits (Funded by National Institutes of Health), Principal Investigator: John Whyte, MD, PhD. In this project, researchers will assess subjects with non-penetrating TBI both on and off medications that affect the attentional network.

Coma and Consciousness

• Recovery from Prolonged Unconsciousness (Funded by Brain Injury Association, Rubin Family Foundation), Principal Investigators John Whyte, MD, PhD; Madeline DiPasquale, PhD; and the Consciousness Consortium. This project is designed to test the efficacy of treatments to improve the level or pace of recovery of consciousness.

Language and Aphasia

• Psycholinguistic Analysis of Aphasic Syndromes (Funded by National Institutes of Health) Myrna Schwartz, Principal Investigator; with Co-Investigators:  Nadine Martin (Temple University); Gary Dell (University of  Illinois at Champaign-Urbana). This project supports behavioral and computational studies of non-aphasic and aphasic language processing in the domains of semantics, syntax, and lexical access. 

Subprojects include:

• Computational and Behavioral studies of the interactive 2 step model of lexical access (with Gary Dell)
• Computational and behavioral studies of verb access in aphasia (with Gary Dell, Laura Barde, Consuelo Boronat)
• Contextual interference effects in picture naming (with Tatiana Schnur, Catherine Hodgson, Adelyn Brecher)
• Interference and short-term learning in blocked word-naming and repetition (with Nadine Martin, Esther Lee, Francine Kohen)
• Profiles of naming recovery in aphasia (with Adelyn Brecher, Paula Sobel).

 

• Augmentative-Assistive Communication (AAC) Processing Support for Spoken Language in Aphasia  (Funded by the National Institutes of  Health)  Myrna Schwartz, Principal Investigator; Co Investigator:  Marcia Linebarger (Psycholinguistic Technologies, Inc.)  This project supports further development of the Sentence Shaper, an augmentative-assistive communication (AAC) for persons with aphasia, which provides processing support for spoken language communication. 

Subprojects include:

• Development of a personal digital assistant (pda) component of the Sentence Shaper that can be used to support communication in real time (Marcia Linebarger, John Romania)
• Evaluation of the efficacy of the Sentence Shaper with and without pda as an aid to functional language communication by aphasic speakers (the team:  Ruth Fink, Megan Bartlett-Williams, Marcia Linebarger)
• Comparison of the Sentence Shaper/pda with standard multi-modality tools for enhancing functional communication in aphasia (the team; with consultant Roberta Elman)
• Using focus groups and other qualitative techniques to assess users' satisfaction with the AAC and traditional functional communication aids (the team; with consultant Gala True)

• Assistive Technology for Adults with Acquired Aphasia (Funded by the State of Pennsylvania) Myrna Schwartz, Principal Investigator.  This project supports development of a training manual for the Sentence Shaper and a test for mastery of the mechanics of operating the system (with Ruth Fink, Megan Bartlett-Williams, Marcia Linebarger)

 

• Linguistic and Nonlinguistic Functions of Frontal Cortex (Principal Investigator: Sharon Thompson-Schill ) Under a subcontract from the University of Pennsylvania to MossRehab, we are conducting lesion studies of the role of prefrontal cortex in the resolution of conflict in a variety of language tasks (with Tatiana Schnur, Esther Lee and consultant, H. Branch Coslett)

 

• Lexical Retrieval, Verbal Short-Term Memory and Learning (Nadine Martin, Principal Investigator).  Under a subcontract from Temple University, we are conducting studies of naming, repetition, and verbal learning in aphasia (with Ruth Fink)

Polio and Mobility

• Assessment and Treatment of Shoulder Dysfunction in Post-Polio and Elderly Populations - Part I (Funded by the U.S. Department of the Army), Principal Investigator: Mary Klein, PhD. In this project, subjects with lower-extremity impairment and symptoms of shoulder overuse will participate in individualized exercise programs designed to help reduce shoulder pain.

• Treatment of Shoulder Dysfunction in Polio Survivors and Elder Adults with Lower Extremity Impairment - Part II (Funded by Department of Education NIDRR), Principal Investigator: Mary Klein, PhD. In this project, subjects with lower-extremity impairment and symptoms of shoulder overuse will participate in individualized exercise programs designed to help reduce shoulder pain. Detailed evaluations of functional performance will also be performed.

Routine Action Skills

• Spatial and Non-spatial Factors in Selection for Action (Funded by National Institutes of Health), Principal Investigator: Laurel J. Buxbaum, PsyD. This study focuses on how objects in the environment are identified and selected for the purpose of action.

• Organization and Breakdown of Routine Action Skills (Funded by National Institutes of Health), Principal Investigator: Myrna Schwartz, PhD. This project looks at the role of physical object distractors on interference with the completion of functional tasks.

Spatial Attention and Spatial Motor Control

• Effectiveness of Treatment of Hemispatial Neglect (Funded by National Institutes of Health), Principal Investigator: Laurel Buxbaum, PsyD. This project is a multi-center collaboration looking at the incidence and recovery pattern of unilateral neglect in patients with a right hemispheric stroke.

• Body Representations: Neuropsychology and Anatomic Basis (Funded by National Institutes of Health), Principal Investigator: Branch Coslett, MD. This project is designed to determine if it is possible to identify different body awareness schemas after stroke.

• Spatial Influences on Language Function (Funded by National Institutes of Health), Principal Investigator: Branch Coslett, MD. The purpose of this study is to provide evidence for spatial influences on language function and to explore the spatial orientation of an object on language processing skills.

Traumatic Brain Injury

• Model System of Brain Injury Care in Philadelphia Region (Funded by Department of Education NIDRR), Principal Investigators: John Whyte, MD, PhD; Tessa Hart, PhD. Any patient 16 years of age or older, admitted to Temple University Hospital or Albert Einstein Medical Center with a traumatic brain injury and transferred to MossRehab for brain injury rehabilitation, may be eligible for this study. The purpose of the project is to establish and maintain a Model System of Care for individuals with traumatic brain injuries, and to evaluate how well people who have had TBI recover over time in such a system.

• Impaired Self-Awareness in Traumatic Brain Injury (Funded by National Institutes of Health), Principal Investigator: Tessa Hart, PhD (in collaboration with M. Sherer, PhD, Principal Investigator, Mississippi Methodist Rehabilitation Center). The project seeks to help predict which survivors of TBI are most likely to exhibit persistent impaired self-awareness and to illuminate aspects of the disorder that might respond to targeted treatment approaches.

• A Double Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial in the Management of Post-Traumatic Agitation (Funded by National Institutes of Health), Principal Investigator: Andrea Laborde, MD, (in collaboration with Jerry Mysiw, MD, Principal Investigator at Ohio State University). This project seeks to evaluate the efficacy of medications currently being used in post-traumatic agitation.