Neurobehavior Program

Neurobehavior Unit

The Boston University School of Medicine’s Neurobehavior Service provides consultation for inpatients and outpatients. Board Certified Neurologists, neuropsychologists and speech pathologists highly trained and dedicated to the assessment, management and rehabilitation of patients with disorders of thinking, memory, and language. We are equipped to perform intensive evaluations in order to tailor individual rehabilitative programs for our patients with brain injury of any cause. Weekly conferences focused on individual patient’s concerns incorporate input from the internationally recognized Aphasia and Memory Disorders Research Centers of the School of Medicine.

Patients who are in need of evaluation/rehabilitation for problems with thinking, memory, language or other cognitive problems can be referred to our Neurobehavior Service. For BMC referrals, call 617-638-8456. For Boston VAMC referrals or to schedule an appointment please call Jeanette Paz, 617-232-9500, extension #4474.

Clinical Sites/Clinical Staff

Boston Medical Center; East Newton Campus, Harrison Avenue Campus (Dr. Sanford Auerbach)
Edith Nourse Bedford VAMC (Dr. Neil Kowall, Dr. Alan Mandell)
VA Boston Healthcare System: Jamaica Plain, Brockton, Causeway Street, W. Roxbury (Dr. Martin Albert, Dr. Barbara Dworetzky, Dr. Michael Alexander, Dr. Marcel Kinsbourne, Dr. Nancy Helm-Estabrook, Dr. Thomas Walshe)
Braintree Rehabilitation (Dr. Douglas Katz)
Chelsea Soldier’s Home (Dr. Reva Klein)
Weymouth Office (Dr. Sanford Auerbach)

Education/Clinical Conferences

Weekly Alzheimer’s Disease Center Clinical Research Conference, Wednesdays, BMC
Weekly Clinical Case Conference in Behavioral Neurology, Tuesdays, Boston VAMC
Aphasia/Neurobehavior Grand Rounds, Thursdays, VAMC/Braintree
Rehab/BMC Behavioral Neuroscience Doctoral Program, Graduate School of Medical Sciences

Research

The Boston University School of Medicine’s Behavioral Neurology Service has a long and rich history, and has a robust research program. It is home of the world renowned Aphasia Research Center (ARC), Memory Disorders Center, and Environmental Hazards Center. The Aphasia Research Center has the longest running center grant in the country with funding from the National Institutes Health running for more than 30 years. Founded by Drs. Norman Geschwind and Harold Goodglass, and currently under the direction of Dr. Martin Albert, researchers join to answer interesting neurological questions in aphasia, neuropsychology, aging, dementia, and other areas of behavioral neurology.

The Aphasia Research Center has influenced the way in which stroke and aphasic patients are evaluated and treated worldwide. The Memory Disorders Research Center has pioneered an understanding of memory defects stemming from brain damage (projectile and closed head injuries), alcoholism, drug abuse, dementia, and other neurological disease. This Center, funded by the National Institutes of Health, combines the study of cognitive processes with the latest developments in neuroimaging. It is a national resource and the only research center of its kind in the United States.

The Environmental Hazards Center, under the direction of Dr. Roberta White, focuses efforts toward elucidating brain-behavior relationships through the study of patients with focal lesions and specific neuropsychological disorders, the development and validation of new test instruments, and behavioral neurotoxicology. Dr. Neil Kowall heads the geriatric research program located primarily at the Bedford VA (GRECC).

The NIH Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Boston University is one of 26 NIH supported research centers providing participants and resources to dozens of researchers in Alzheimer’s Disease at Boston University and around the world. Other important research projects include: Language in the Aging Brain, Cognitive and Perceptual Disturbances in Alcoholics, and the Genetic Epidemiology of Dementia.