Brain Fitness Center provides cognitive rehabilitation after TBI, stroke and other impairment

Photo By Chandni Gupta | Picture of the Brain Fitness Center by Dr. Katherine Sullivan. The BFC has an optimized environment for completing heart rate variability (HRV) training — an enclosed pod which contains a reclining chair and a computer with interactive HRV biofeedback games. Patients can escape the outside environment and focus on controlling their heart rate through regulated breathing exercises.  

MARYLAND, UNITED STATES

08.01.2025

Story by Ben Lasky 

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

Like a broken bone, the brain needs to be rehabilitated after it’s injured. The Brain Fitness Center (BFC) at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) addresses this need by offering programs designed to enhance cognitive rehabilitation. Since opening in 2009, over 3,000 service members and beneficiaries have participated in the BFC program. Most patients have been diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury, but the center has also helped patients following a stroke or other event leading to cognitive impairment.

The BFC is a specialty clinic that provides service members and dependents the opportunity to use computer-based brain training programs as a supplement to traditional cognitive rehabilitation and/or for enhanced mental performance. The center offers patients the use of brain training and biofeedback programs onsite or at home.

“The Brain Fitness Center is designed as an adjunct to traditional rehabilitation. Brain training programs serve as a resource for patients who have been, or will be, discharged from traditional therapies and require continued support for maintenance of treatment gains,” said Dr. Katherine Sullivan, director of the BFC. Dr. Sullivan further noted that the structured training environment provided by the BFC can also benefit eligible patients who may not meet the standard criteria for traditional rehabilitation services.

With support from the American Red Cross, the BFC offers access to heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback devices for appropriate patients. Training can be done outside the center on a smartphone app or home computer, as well as during scheduled appointments. The BFC features an optimized environment for HRV training ─ an enclosed pod (pictured) with a reclining chair and a computer with interactive HRV biofeedback games. This specialized environment allows patients to minimize external distractions and concentrate on regulating their heart rate through controlled breathing exercises. The goal of self-regulation is to develop a more focused mind, which may help with overall cognitive function.

To evaluate outcomes, the BFC employs a series of self-reported symptom questionnaires and a computer-based cognitive assessment. These are administered at the patient's initial visit and then every eight weeks until discharge. The overarching goal is to improve the center's understanding of computer-based cognitive rehabilitation outcomes through the development and implementation of multiple research protocols, ultimately enhancing service members' recovery. The BFC has completed a prospective randomized controlled comparison of computer programs against the standard of care in both TBI and non-TBI patients. A retrospective chart review of the initial 100 BFC patients indicated a reduction in symptom severity following participation in the program.

In their time at the NICoE, many patients are taught strategies to improve cognitive functioning, such as memory association or mnemonic devices. The Brain Fitness Center allows them to apply what has been learned in a live setting and continue their journey towards healing.

For providers: Patients are referred to the Brain Fitness Center from their medical or rehabilitation provider through GENESIS (Medical Service-Brain Injury Medicine; Refer to Location- 6224 Walter Reed NICoE Brain Fit)

• Date Taken: 08.01.2025
• Date Posted: 08.18.2025 11:20
• Story ID: 545473
• Location: MARYLAND, US