CNL Description

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MBI-UF Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory

Center for Neuropsychological Studies (CNS)

Dr. Ken Heilman, Director, Center for Neuropsychological Studies (CNS) delivered a fascinating presentation in which he reviewed the history and some of the research and academic activities of this Type II, BOR-approved center. Many of these functions are outlined in the Mission Statement presented below. The CNS was formed as a UF campus-wide center in 1983 and today it boasts many active research projects funded by the NIH, VA, DoD and other extramural agencies. Many, but not all, of the future research activities of the CNS will be conducted in the MBI-UF’s multi-user Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (CNL) currently being constructed and equipped on the third floor of the new building (see description provided below). Other research activities of the CNS, especially those involving patients, are conducted in Shands Hospital and Gainesville VA Medical Center space. Still other projects are conducted in laboratories found elsewhere within the UF Health Science Center and on the main campus. In the future, some of the clinical research activities of the CNS will likely be conducted in the, still-to-be-designed, hospital-based MBI-UF Neuro-Clinical Research Center. Finally, as described below, the CNS hosts a weekly research seminar on Friday at 1:00 p.m. in Room E-336 of the Gainesville VAMC.

CNS Mission Statement

The mission of the Center for Neuropsychological Studies is primarily educational and scientific. Neuropsychological studies involve those studies which attempt to understand the relationship between brain and behavior. Some of the behaviors include:

Language including reading and writing
Memory
Attention
Skilled motor behavior
Emotions.

In addition to attempting to understand the neural basis of these behaviors, members of the Center also study disorders of these systems (e.g., aphasia, alexia, agraphia, amnesia, inattention or neglect, apraxia, etc.). These types of disorders can be induced by a variety of brain diseases including:

Alzheimer’s disease
Stroke
Tumors
and Trauma.

These disorders can also be developmental.

Because studying brain behavior relationships requires expertise both in the neural substrate as well as behavior, neuropsychological studies is by definition multidisciplinary. Therefore, members of the Center include not only neurologists and neuroscientists, but also many individuals with expertise in behavior such as psychologists (clinical, cognitive and physiological), speech pathologists, anthropologists and others. The Center serves as a means of developing research collaborations. This collaboration not only leads to new and innovative research projects and programs, but also helps improve the quality of our research and research reports.

Center also is educational. A meeting is held weekly where one of the members of the Center, guest speakers, or students present before the Center membership. The Center holds a yearly meeting in the Orlando region and invites students to participate in this meeting. Members of the Center give a course every other year on brain behavior relationships. Perhaps most importantly, however, this Center allows for the mentoring of the students. Students who partake in Center activities include: 1) graduate students (e.g., clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, speech pathology, medicine), 2) post doctoral fellows, 3) neurology and psychiatry residents, and 4) psychology interns.

Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (CNL)

Dr. Steve Nadeau made a brief presentation in which he described the proposed features (space and equipment) of the MBI-UF Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (CNL). This 2,458 nsf multi-user core facility is located in rooms L3-109 (A-E), L3-113, L3-117, L3-127 (A-C) and L3-135 of the new MBI-UF building. At the urging of Dr. Luttge, Dr. Nadeau and several of his colleagues worked for several months, producing interim drafts and holding open meetings of the Center for Neuropsychological Studies (CNS), to produce a governance document (i.e., by-laws) to describe how this new facility would operate. It is important to realize that at every stage throughout the iteration of these by-laws, Dr. Luttge was involved in an advisory fashion and that the final product has his approval. These by-laws have also been approved in a formal vote of the membership of the CNS on June 19, 1998. A copy of the approved by-laws is presented below.

The chairman, and other members of the Executive Advisory Board (EAB) for the CNL have yet to be chosen. In the interim, anyone interested in learning more about the proposed activities and facilities of the CNL should contact Dr. Nadeau at snadeau@pharmacology.ufl.edu.

MBI-UF CNL BY-LAWS

I. Purpose

The purpose of the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (CNL) is to provide facilities for members of the Center for Neuropsychological Studies (CNS) to perform behavioral neuroscience research.

II. Users

The CNL is available to all members of the CNS, their invited guests, and other scientists interested in neurobehavioral research, to the extent that space limitations allow and to the extent that the research of any one investigator does not interfere with other ongoing work in the CNL. Members using the CNL are expected to cooperate in maximizing the use of the space and to facilitate the work of new investigators when possible.

III. Governance

The CNL will be governed by an Executive Advisory Board (EAB).

IV. Executive Advisory Board (EAB) A. Membership

The EAB will be comprised of a representative of the CNS on the Internal Faculty Advisory Board (IFAB) McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida and three additional Board member nominated by the CNS Co-Directors and the membership of the CNS. The members of the EAB will be from four different departments. The chairperson and members of the EAB will be elected by the members of the CNS. The members and the chairman of the EAB will be elected to two-year terms. Two people will be elected each year. The chairman will serve an additional year as a past-chairman in order to assure continuity.

B. Purpose

The EAB will develop and maintain policies for the use of the CNL and mediate disputes over CNL use. It will also perform other functions indicated by the Co-Directors of the CNS and a consensus of its membership.

C. Goals of the EAB for CNL use

1. Maximize productivity of the CNL
2. In case of disputes over use of CNL space or equipment, priority will be accorded to:

Projects within the mission of the MBI-UF and the CNS
Research supported by extramural funding
Pilot studies likely to lead to extramural funding
Studies of fundamental scientific or clinical importance
Investigators who have purchased the equipment, in case of disputes over shared equipment.
Investigators willing to confine their use of the CNL to evenings and weekends.
Investigators who have maintained their research area in good order and have respected the needs of others sharing that space.
Willingness and ability to pay for ongoing costs of the CNL.
Considerations of fairness

D. Project Approval by the EAB

Investigators planning to use the Laboratory must obtain authorization for CNL use from the EAB. The following circumstances will be given particular consideration:

1. Submission of a proposal for extramural funding, the execution of which will be contingent on the availability of substantial additional space within the CNL.

2. The conduct of research requiring permanent equipment, the presence of which will significantly constrain the use of that CNL space by others.

V. Research Assistant

The ongoing activities of the CNL will be supported in part by a Research Assistant responsible to the Co-Directors and the EAB of the CNS.

A. Responsibilities

1. Maintenance of a data base of ongoing laboratory costs (including equipment maintenance contracts, disposable materials, and services provided by CNL personnel) for purposes of cost recovery.

2. Maintenance of Institutional Review Board protocols and informed consents.

3. Maintenance of research subject data bases.

4. Other responsibilities as defined by the Co-Directors and the EAB.

B. Support

The salary of the Research Assistant will be provided through extramural funding of Investigators conducting research in the CNL and/or by their respective Departments. The quantity of support to be provided will be determined by the EAB.

VI. By-Law Approval

These policies and all subsequent amendments will be adopted by the CNS contingent on approval by the Co-Directors and a majority of the members attending a meeting of the CNS explicitly set up to consider Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory By-Laws and duly announced to members in advance.