by Adrian Owen
Recruited to The University of Western Ontario in 2010 as the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience and Imaging, Dr. Adrian Owen is addressing one of the most challenging topics in clinical medicine– residual brain function in patients who are non-responsive after suffering a severe brain injury. He has spent the last 20 years pioneering breakthroughs in cognitive neuroscience, with some of his research interests including brain mapping in the human frontostriatal system and cognitive deficits in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Building on his groundbreaking discoveries, Owen is currently testing new theoretical models and using fMRI approaches to detect and measure activity in brain-injured patients who appear to be entirely vegetative. He will also develop new brain-computer interfaces that will allow these patients to communicate with the world and expand their potential for therapy. These pioneering techniques offer a new window into the consciousness of some brain-injured patients.
Owen’s work provides a solid foundation for future leading-edge research at Western in the field; his research program encourages links between neuroscientists, biomedical engineers and clinicians, providing a myriad of new opportunities for both research and industry. Dr. Owen’s work will improve health care delivery for brain-injured patients across Canada, affecting diagnosis and clinical care, and the medical and legal ethical considerations about life after severe brain injury.
Before assuming his position at Western, Owen was a senior scientist and assistant director of the Medical Research Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge. Both his work there, and at the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre at the University of Cambridge, used functional neuroimaging to explore attention, memory and control in brain-injured patients and healthy volunteers.