Predicting the onset of a debilitating neurological disorder
Viviana Hernández-Castañón, a postdoctoral associate at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, will use a fellowship from the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation to investigate brain activity changes associated with dystonia.
The chronic neurological disorder dystonia got its name in 1911, but after 115 years of study, scientists still don’t fully understand brain changes that cause its painful posture and movement symptoms.
Viviana Hernández-Castañón hopes to better understand how brain activity changes as dystonia develops. The postdoctoral associate in Meike van der Heijden’s lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC will pursue her study with a two-year, $150,000 fellowship from the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation.
“We are interested in predicting the onset of dystonia, but also understanding the progression of the disease,” Hernández-Castañón said. “Our aim is to record electrical activity in the brain using a minimally invasive electroencephalography technique. We will track the activity over time and identify biomarkers of brain activity that can indicate that either dystonia is already developing or we are about to observe the symptoms emerge.”
Debilitating muscle contractions, repetitive limb movements, and speech impairments upset the quality of life not only for those with the disease, but also their families, Hernández-Castañón said. She hopes her research will lead to relief for them all.
Hernández-Castañón will track changes in the brain in a pre-clinical model as the disease develops and progresses, then use the data for machine-learning analysis. The aim is to predict timing and probability of dystonia’s emergence and progression, which can contribute to better diagnosis and more targeted treatments.
“Viviana brings a rich experience in EEG signal analyses to our lab and this project,” said Meike van der Heijden, assistant professor at the research institute and in Virginia Tech’s School of Neuroscience. “Her skills are an asset to this project and the dystonia field as a whole. I feel very lucky she chose to join our team.”
Hernández-Castañón called the grant an important step in her career.
“This fellowship will allow me to continue my research interests while contributing to the team’s work, and to the ultimate goal of improving human health. And this means a lot to me,” she said. “It keeps me motivated every day to continue working. Even if we sometimes face difficulties, we know what the goal is, and we keep going. Because we believe this work can make a meaningful difference.”
