Our Mission
The mission of NRRL is comprised of two primary goals. First, we strive to establish the most effective therapeutic approaches for individuals who have sustained damage to their nervous system. Secondly, we investigate changes in the brain that occur following such damage in order to develop a better understanding of the recovery process.
What We Do
We are a clinical research laboratory affiliated with the Department of Occupational Therapy at Colorado State University. Currently, NRRL is developing and investigating improved methods for stroke rehabilitation, with a primary focus on recovery of functional movement. Two principle therapies are under investigation in NRRL: constraint-induced therapy (CIT), and rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS). Both techniques are designed to increase how much and how well a person uses his or her stroke-affected arm in daily activities. Research increasingly supports the use of CIT and RAS for survivors of stroke. Our role is to investigate the most effective aspects of these approaches.
In addition to developing and studying therapeutic approaches, investigators at NRRL also use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to explore changes in the brain that occur after stroke and during therapy. TMS allows us to track these changes over time and to better understand the process of recovery.
NRRL also uses kinematic motion analysis, electromyography (EMG), and a broad spectrum of functional and neurological measures so that we can obtain the most complete picture of recovery after stroke.