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Brain and Behavior

Kihwan Han, Rebecca A. Davis, Sandra B. Chapman and Daniel C. Krawczyk

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Overview

With increased awareness of the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury on cognition, many researchers are curious as to what can be done to enhance recovery. In this study, researchers used Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Tactics, or SMART™ Brain Training, and measured the cortical thickness in 60 individuals with chronic TBI pre- training, immediately post-training, and 3 months post-training. Findings suggest that brain connectivity and cortical thickness may serve as markers of plasticity, and that brain plasticity induced through cognitive training can continue throughout the chronic phases of TBI.
Colormaps for nonmonotonic (a) and monotonic (b) within‐ and between‐group contrasts for changes in cortical thickness over time (p vertex < .05, p cluster < .05). SMART, strategic memory advanced reasoning training; BHW, brain health workshop; L, left; R, right; DLPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; SCG, subcentral gyrus; DPFC, dorsal prefrontal cortex; AMPFC, anterior medial prefrontal cortex; PRCG, precentral gyrus; PCG, postcentral gyrus; MT+, middle temporal complex; LG, lingual gyrus; APFC, anterior prefrontal cortex; OCPL, occipito‐parietal lobe

Colormaps for nonmonotonic (a) and monotonic (b) within‐ and between‐group contrasts for changes in cortical thickness over time (p vertex < .05, p cluster < .05). SMART™, Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Tactics; BHW, brain health workshop; L, left; R, right; DLPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; SCG, subcentral gyrus; DPFC, dorsal prefrontal cortex; AMPFC, anterior medial prefrontal cortex; PRCG, precentral gyrus; PCG, postcentral gyrus; MT+, middle temporal complex; LG, lingual gyrus; APFC, anterior prefrontal cortex; OCPL, occipito‐parietal lobe

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Sandi Chapman, Founder and Chief Director, Center for BrainHealth, Co-Leader, The BrainHealth Project, Dee Wyly Distinguished Professor

Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD

Chief Director Dee Wyly Distinguished Professor, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences Co-Leader, The BrainHealth Project

Daniel Krawczyk, Deputy Director, Center for BrainHealth, Debbie and Jim Francis Chair in Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Daniel Krawczyk, PhD

Deputy Director of Research Debbie and Jim Francis Chair and Professor, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Related Information

SMART™ brain training is the proprietary methodology developed and tested by Center for BrainHealth researchers and other teams over three decades. It teaches techniques that prime the brain, calibrate mental energy, reinforce strategic thinking and ignite innovation. This methodology provides the building blocks of our brain training programs for individual and group needs.

Published SMART Evidence

A Progression in Breadth and Depth
Multiple trials funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DOD), and private philanthropy, have demonstrated that SMART can promote gains in core cognitive areas and strengthen several of the brain’s key networks – functions that support planning, reasoning, decision making, judgment and emotional regulation across populations.
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SMART Brain Training

Take a scientific approach to leadership development. Our brains are adaptable and trainable, driven by how we engage every day. In the same way that we can improve our bodies through physical fitness, we can increase our focus, creativity and mental efficiency with targeted strategies and healthy brain habits.
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Strategic Brain Training Positively Affects Neural Connectivity for Individuals with TBI

A recent study at Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas shows that a certain type of instructor-led brain training protocol can stimulate structural changes in the brain and neural connections even years after a traumatic brain injury (TBI).