Immersive café rehabilitation program for adults with severe traumatic brain injury
An Enriched, Immersive Rehabilitative Environment for Those with Traumatic Brain Injury
This project offers adults with serious traumatic brain injury a six-week immersive café training program to practice everyday physical, thinking, and social skills and compares it with usual occupational and physical therapy.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Case Western Reserve University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cleveland, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11180325 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would be randomly assigned to either the immersive café program or to standard physical and occupational therapy. The immersive group spends six weeks working at a fully functioning kiosk in the MetroHealth Rehabilitation Institute cafeteria, practicing tasks like serving customers, handling payments, and restocking under therapist supervision and with safety harnessing. The goal is to combine cognitive, social, and physical activities in a real-world setting to encourage brain plasticity and vocational reintegration. The control group receives conventional clinic-based therapy for the same period so outcomes can be compared.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults (21+) with chronic severe traumatic brain injury who have ongoing motor or cognitive deficits and are medically stable and able to participate in supervised, real-world tasks are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People with very recent or unstable medical conditions, children, or those unable to safely take part in supervised public interactions or follow simple directions may not benefit from or be eligible for this program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could help people with chronic severe TBI regain motor, thinking, and social skills in ways that transfer more directly to daily life and work.
How similar studies have performed: Animal studies of enriched environments show neuroplastic benefits and early human translation efforts are limited but suggest promise, making this a novel but plausible approach.
Where this research is happening
Cleveland, United States
- Case Western Reserve University — Cleveland, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sulzer, James — Case Western Reserve University
- Study coordinator: Sulzer, James
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.