The Cognitive Rehabilitation Laboratory at Üsküdar University is an advanced research and application center established to objectively assess cognitive (cognitive) deficits in individuals resulting from central nervous system injuries, neurodegenerative diseases, or developmental disorders.
- Primary Objective: To maximize the cognitive capacities of individuals experiencing functional deficits in attention, memory, executive functions, visuospatial perception, problem-solving, and language processes, and to enable them to become independent in their daily living activities.
- Key Features: The laboratory integrates traditional paper-and-pencil test batteries with next-generation computerized cognitive rehabilitation software and neuromodulation infrastructure, enabling it to provide a personalized recovery plan.
- Academic Contribution: By bringing together the disciplines of neuroscience, occupational therapy, and clinical psychology on a common platform, the laboratory supports scientific research at the academic level by equipping students with the skills to experience the mechanisms of neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to reorganize itself), collect cognitive data, and design multidisciplinary rehabilitation programs.
Equipment and Technical Infrastructure in the Laboratory
The laboratory’s infrastructure includes hardware and software systems optimized to both functionally measure the cognitive processes of the human brain and retrain it using targeted stimuli:
- Computer-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation and Training Software (RehaCom, CogniPlus, etc.): Clinical software stations that train specific cognitive domains—such as attention, memory, reaction time, and logical reasoning—at personalized difficulty levels and digitally report performance improvements.
- Standardized Neurocognitive Test Batteries: Paper-and-pencil and digital-based clinical assessment sets used to map individuals’ cognitive profiles and identify their cognitive strengths and weaknesses.
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Systems: Non-invasive (requiring no surgical intervention) neuromodulation devices used to enhance the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation exercises and accelerate learning by modulating cortical excitability.
- Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Simulation Tools: Virtual or physical adaptive sets used to test planning and organizational skills, with the aim of facilitating the transfer of cognitive rehabilitation processes to daily life.
- Feedback-Based Balance and Coordination Measurement Devices: Visual feedback-based kinematic analysis platforms that examine the effects of cognitive processes on motor planning and motor skills.
Research Areas and Application Areas
Applied curricula conducted in the laboratory, R&D projects, and graduate thesis studies cover the most strategic application layers of cognitive rehabilitation:
- Neurological Rehabilitation Processes: Rehabilitation and monitoring of cognitive deficits (losses) that develop following stroke, traumatic brain injury, or tumor surgery.
- Geriatric Cognitive Monitoring and Dementia: Development of preventive and supportive cognitive exercise models aimed at slowing cognitive decline in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.
- Pediatric and Developmental Cognitive Support: Studies aimed at improving executive functions and attention skills in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, or autism spectrum disorder.
- Neuromodulation-Supported Cognitive Training: Research into the accelerative effects on neuroplasticity resulting from the simultaneous use of non-invasive brain stimulation methods and computerized cognitive programs.
Contributions to Students and the Industry
The Clinical Cognitive Rehabilitation Laboratory equips students to become experts who will play a role in the future digital health market by combining their theoretical foundations in neuroanatomy and neurology with advanced clinical application skills.
- Evidence-Based Intervention Discipline: Students learn to report on clients’ or patients’ cognitive development processes not through subjective interpretations, but using concrete metrics—such as millisecond reaction time graphs and success rates—provided by computerized rehabilitation systems.
- Wide Range of Employment Opportunities: Graduates who learn to effectively use the neurocognitive assessment and rehabilitation tools in this laboratory can work as “Occupational Therapists,” “Cognitive Rehabilitation Specialists,” or “Clinical Researchers” in rehabilitation centers within hospitals’ neurology, psychiatry, and physical therapy and rehabilitation (FTR) clinics; in special education and rehabilitation institutions; in healthy aging (geriatrics) centers, and in R&D laboratories developing cognitive technologies as “Occupational Therapists,” “Cognitive Rehabilitation Specialists,” or “Clinical Researchers,” with priority and high technical proficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which departments use this laboratory?
This laboratory is primarily and actively used by students and researchers in the Occupational Therapy program within the Faculty of Health Sciences. Additionally, due to its multidisciplinary clinical structure, students and faculty members from the graduate programs in Psychology, Speech-Language Pathology, and Neuroscience can also benefit from the laboratory’s infrastructure.
What tests and analyses are conducted in the lab?
The laboratory conducts computerized attention and memory performance analyses, executive function and reaction time measurements, cognitive profiling using standardized neurocognitive batteries, and analyses of the effects of non-invasive stimulation protocols on cognitive performance.
Who are the cognitive rehabilitation programs offered in the laboratory intended for?
The laboratory’s programs are designed for individuals who have suffered a stroke or traumatic brain injury; older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and similar neurodegenerative disorders; children with attention deficits or learning disabilities; and healthy individuals seeking to optimize their cognitive performance.
Is the laboratory open to external industry collaborations?
Yes, the Cognitive Rehabilitation Laboratory has an infrastructure open to industry partnerships for clinical software validation studies to be conducted jointly with hospitals’ neurology and psychiatry clinics, special education centers, and biomedical R&D organizations developing digital health software and wearable neurotechnology, device performance tests, and scientific research projects.
Can students use the lab for their individual research outside of class hours?
Yes, students may use the laboratory outside of class hours for their undergraduate thesis projects, TÜBİTAK student research activities, or master’s/doctoral thesis work; with the approval of the laboratory coordinator, subject to the operational/appointment schedule of the clinical software, and under the direct supervision of center officials.
