Grant: Project Grant

Today over 80% of Canadians who have a stroke will survive. Recent advances in immediate medical care have made stroke into a chronic disease. However, rehabilitation approaches have fallen short of the goal of restoring function after stroke. The net result is more people living with disability after stroke. As a result there is a critical need for new rehabilitation interventions, treatments that can restore function and return people to their daily lives and families. Pairing brain stimulation with rehabilitation after stroke is a promising approach. However, early studies of this intervention responses proved to be highly variable. Some people showed a strong benefit while others did not. Biomarkers are measurements of brain function that can be taken in humans and are useful in making predictions about which therapy may best help a patient after stroke. The main aim of the proposed program of research is to identify biomarkers that can be used to predict response to brain stimulation interventions. We will use this information to predict how individual patients will respond and how much recovery we can expect. This research is urgently needed to rapidly advance recovery of function after stroke. In sum this work will define a new therapy for stroke patients and identify who it is most likely to benefit.