Using balance training to wake up cerebellum circuits and help thinking after mild head injury
Official title: Recruitment of Cerebellar Circuits with Balance Training for Cognitive Rehabilitation in a Mouse Model of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Funded at VA Puget Sound Healthcare System · NIH-11239783 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses balance training in a mouse model of mild traumatic brain injury to change cerebellum circuits with the goal of improving thinking and balance for people with TBI.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | VA Puget Sound Healthcare System NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project start | October 1, 2023 |
| Project end | September 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| NIH project number | 5I01RX003829-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11239783 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal future human candidates would be people (including Veterans) with a history of mild traumatic brain injury who have ongoing balance problems and mild cognitive complaints.
✕Less likely to help
People with severe traumatic brain injury, non-TBI causes of dementia, or those medically unable to perform balance exercises may not benefit from the approaches tested here.
What this research studies
From the patient's perspective, researchers are using a mouse model of mild traumatic brain injury to see how balance exercises activate specific cerebellar circuits that link balance and thinking. They will train mice on balance tasks, measure changes in both balance and cognitive-like behaviors, and map the involved brain circuits in the lateral/dentate cerebellar nuclei. The team will use physiological recordings and tissue analyses to see which circuits change after training and whether those changes relate to behavioral improvements. The ultimate aim is to use what is learned to design cerebellum-focused rehabilitation approaches that could be tested in Veterans and others with TBI.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new rehabilitation approaches that use balance-based therapies to improve thinking and reduce balance problems after mild TBI.
How similar studies have gone: Prior human and non-human primate studies show cerebellar activation during cognitive and balance tasks and that balance training can help thinking, but targeted recruitment of specific cerebellar circuits for TBI rehabilitation is a newer, less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
-
VA Puget Sound Healthcare System
Seattle, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Carlson, Erik Sean — VA Puget Sound Healthcare System
- Study coordinator: Carlson, Erik Sean
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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.