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The Cognitive FX Blog

Your source for everything you need to know about traumatic brain injury and concussions.

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Cognitive FX Team

The "Cognitive FX Team" is a collaborative ensemble of distinguished doctors, therapists, and practitioners. Our experts are pioneers in the field of neuroimaging and concussion treatment. With extensive experience and a strong commitment to patient care, our team excels in utilizing cutting-edge technologies, such as functional MRI (fMRI), to provide personalized diagnostic and treatment strategies. Our renowned professionals have published groundbreaking research, developed innovative neuroimaging biomarkers, and conducted thousands of individualized patient assessments. We take pride in our holistic approach to patient care, focusing on physical, cognitive, and emotional aspects of recovery. As leaders in the industry, the Cognitive FX Team is dedicated to advancing the science of concussion diagnosis and treatment to provide our patients with the highest level of care and support.

The Cost of Distracted Driving Commit to Focus on Driving

The Cost of Distracted Driving: Commit to Focus on Driving

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Cognitive FX Team

When it comes to multitasking, we all think we’re great at it, but really only about 2% of people can successfully multitask, according to Psychology Today. Even if you think you MIGHT be one of these people, chances are, you’re probably not. Yet it seems that we all like to test out that theory in inappropriate places, specifically when we’re on the road.

Most of us have sent a text or talked on the phone while driving, but we also all have been in or know someone who has been in an accident involving distracted driving. You’d think we would have gotten the hint by now, especially with driving laws being the way that they are. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, “ 15 states prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cellphones while driving”, and “all states except 2 include at least one category for distraction on police crash report forms.”

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Employee Feature - Amber Klepacz

Employee Feature - Amber Klepacz

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Cognitive FX Team

Amber received her Bachelor’s Degree in Athletic Training from Brigham Young University in December of 2016. She is a certified and licensed athletic trainer. She also works at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, where she responds to and helps rehabilitate missionaries in training who hurt themselves during their recreation time. While she was a student at BYU, she participated in clinical rotations with local sites, including BYU’s football team, BYU’s softball team, and Provo High School’s athletics.

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New Strategies to Improve Outcomes of Concussion Treatment

New Strategies to Improve Outcomes of Concussion Treatment

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Cognitive FX Team

Dr. Mark Allen, and Dr. Alina Fong presented at Pink Concussions 4th conference Pink 4 hosted in Rome, Italy after the Pediatric Aquired Brain Injury Conference. 

This presentation explores important topics related to concussion research and development which leads to better concussion treatment, and treatment outcomes.  

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5 Ways to Prevent a Brain Injury

5 Ways to Prevent a Brain Injury

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Cognitive FX Team

According to the CDC, “there are around 2.8 million TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths each year in the United States. TBI contributed to the deaths of almost 50,000 people. TBI was a diagnosis in more than 282,000 hospitalizations and 2.5 million ER visits. These consisted of TBI alone or TBI in combination with other injuries.” 

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How Writing Can Help You During Concussion Recovery

How Writing Can Help You During Concussion Recovery

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Cognitive FX Team

Past patient, Anna Empey shares her experiences in a series of blog posts including "Perspective After a Brain Injury," "10 Things I Wish I had Know Before my Brain Injury," and here in this post.  

When I first was recovering, I felt like I couldn’t find words to write about my experience. I couldn’t explain either written or vocally how I was feeling or what I was going through. Over time, writing became something that helped me learn how to gather my thoughts and express myself. I focused more on the act of writing something down rather than if it was written perfectly or exactly accurate. Continually writing helped me find ways to get better at it.

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How Cognitive FX Got Started

How Cognitive FX Got Started

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Cognitive FX Team

Long before Cognitive FX was created, Dr. Mark Allen, PhD, and Dr. Alina Fong, PhD began searching for a greater understanding of the brain. Their focus has been on how the brain works and how each region of the brain contributes to functionality. As they began searching for answers, they began to understand how the brain functions, and its subtle but powerful abilities. Over time after collecting a wealth of data, they established a strong foundation of what a normal brain should function like and created an objective scale where we can measure where individuals should be for optimal brain functioning.

Clinical Application of fNCI Begins

After years researching and applying the technology of fMRI and adapting it they started a company with key partners called Notus, which provided the technology known as Notus Functional NeuroCognitive Imaging or fNCI. Notus started applying this technology in the clinical setting as interest grew in the community. This technology is now used in military hospitals, clinics, private hospitals, and more. Clinicians see that fNCI is useful as a diagnostic tool to understand what is happening with their patients in ways they could not understand before. fNCI inspects over 60 distinct regions of the brain. For example, physicians can better understand a complex brain injury by understanding which brain regions are not working instead of using a one word summary "concussion".

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5 Ways to Get Ready for Fall Sports

5 Ways to Get Ready for Fall Sports

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Cognitive FX Team

The new school year is just around the corner; kids are preparing for another year of learning, friendships, and experiences, and mothers are rejoicing everywhere! Whether it’s vocabulary tests, after school clubs, or sports, your kids are going to be kept pretty busy, and you want them to have the best and safest year possible.

The benefits of getting children physically active at a young age are numerous. According to The Aspen Institute, physically active children are 15% more likely to attend college, score up to 40% higher on tests, and are 1/10th as likely to be obese.

Whether this is their first year or their last participating in sports, every child wants to perform the best they can. Every parent wants their child to have a good time while also staying safe so they can keep playing the sports they love now and lead healthier and more successful lives later. 

Here are some tips on things to help you keep your athlete safe and have a successful season.

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Top 5 Foods for Brain Health

Top 5 Foods for Brain Health 

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Cognitive FX Team

The brain is the most important organ in the human body. It regulates the profuse amount of information that the body needs to regulate itself. This includes comprehending pain levels, regulating blood pressure, controlling nervous response, creating and secreting hormones, assisting digestion, along with coordinating the countless other signals the body sends to the brain to help our body function. It is so important to give your brain the vital nutrients it needs to keep your body running in tip top shape.

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The Just Right Challenge - When to Rest & When to Push Your Limits

The Just Right Challenge - When to Rest & When to Push Your Limits

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Cognitive FX Team

The Cognitive FX EPIC Treatment program is designed to help patients recover from a concussion in a week. 

Centered around the specific deficits and symptoms of each patient, this week is intense for the mind, brain, and body, and uniquely customized to each individual. We use standard modalities that have been amplified for our patient’s specific needs such as Neurological Occupational Therapy, NeuroMuscular Therapy, Vision Therapy, Brain Games, De-stimulation and more. 

Our team focuses on giving the “Just Right Challenge” to help our patients know when to push through an exercise or when to rest or slow down a bit. The “Just Right Challenge” is simple. As you start the day you work to get to your optimal activity level. We often try to push through the mental and or physical challenges. Instead of pushing through pain and symptoms to the point of crashing, we have you slow down or take a short break , with the goal to get back to your optimal activity level again. As you move forward with this challenge, the goal is to need and take fewer breaks. 

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Patient Outcomes at Cognitive FX Based on Gender, Age, Mode of Injury, and Time Since Injury

Patient Outcomes at Cognitive FX Based on Gender, Age, Mode of Injury, and Time Since Injury

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Cognitive FX Team

On a regular basis, we’re asked if gender and/or age influence one’s ability to recover. We are also asked if how someone was injured, or how long it has been since their injury will influence their ability to recover.

Our research has found that while it is important to understand these demographics, these factors don’t deter the ability to recover in a short period of time.

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Objective and Subjective Measurements in Our Research

Objective and Subjective Measurements in Our Research

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Cognitive FX Team

Any good scientist knows that in every good data set there must be a way to look at the data objectively and subjectively. Without both types of data, it can be hard to have a full picture and understanding of what is being studied.

What Does Objective Measurement Mean?

Objective measurement is something that is measured consistently. For example, measuring how well someone can perform a set number of tasks in a controlled environment. There are no other factors that can alter the data gathered with this measurement.

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Differences Between Post-Concussion Syndrome PCS & Chronic Trauma Encephalopathy (CTE)

Differences Between Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS) & Chronic Trauma Encephalopathy (CTE)

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Cognitive FX Team

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury (TBI) which is caused by the brain hitting the skull. This can happen in sports, car accidents, falling, or anything similar. A concussion can even be the result of a whiplash. Whenever the body moves quickly back and forth and the brain in turn hits the inside of the skull, it can result in a concussion. A concussion can cause damage to nerves and neurons, alter the blood flow in the brain, and cause chemical and functionality changes in the brain.

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The Value of Objective Concussion Diagnosis and Assessment

The Value of Objective Concussion Diagnosis and Assessment

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Cognitive FX Team

Using functional NeuroCognitive Imaging (fNCI) brain scan technology, we are able to measure the function and activation levels of 60 regions in the brain. We can clearly and objectively see which parts of the brain are working too hard or not working hard enough.  Many of our patients are grateful for the objective analysis of fNCI because it gives them a precise understanding of how their injury is influencing their brain's ability to work efficiently.

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What to Expect During a Complimentary Consultation

What to Expect During a Complimentary Consultation?

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Cognitive FX Team

Cognitive FX offers a complimentary consultation to all potential patients who suffer from a wide variety of things ranging from sports or vehicle injuries to general cognitive decline from other non-injury related factors. To schedule a consultation with one of our Neuroscience Practitioners, simply complete a set of forms online found here

Once we receive your paperwork, we will review it to ensure your situation is a good fit for our services. For example, we do not treat addiction. We want to make sure that we can help you get better based on your specific concerns and symptoms. We have helped individuals recover from concussions, neurological problems from lead poisoning, neurological problems from carbon monoxide poisoning, along with helping the brain to function better after stroke(s).

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fNCI – The Most Objective Method to Diagnose a Concussion

fNCI – The Most Objective Method to Diagnose a Concussion

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Cognitive FX Team

fNCI Beginnings & Research 

For over a decade, Notus Neuropsychological Imaging has been researching the human brain and the effects of concussion.  During this time, Notus developed an imaging technology called Functional NeuroCognitive Imaging (fNCI) that examines over 60 regions of the brain, making it possible to objectively diagnose a concussion or mTBI.  fNCI can accurately depict which brain regions are overcompensating for others and which regions are not working enough, giving the therapists at Cognitive FX specific neuromarkers that clarify the severity and extent of a concussion.

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NeuroVascular Coupling the Secret to Recovering from a Concussion

NeuroVascular Coupling the Secret to Recovering from a Concussion

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Cognitive FX Team

After decades of research, Cognitive FX, in collaboration with Notus Neuropsychological Imaging, found the secret to understanding and recovering from a concussion: NeuroVascular Coupling (NVC). NVC is essentially the connection between the neurons, the astrocyte, and the amount of oxygen, and other nutrients from our vascular supply (blood flow) in our brain.

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