

BRAIN INTERLINK SEMINAR
Brain Recovery Academy Foundation Course
ICAK-ITALIA 2025
In this 2, 3-day weekend foundation course participants will learn the essentials necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of acquired brain injury (ABI). This non-invasive brain treatment was first observed to influence brain recovery in late 2016. Treatments are made with a 3-tiered approach where ‘Paired Associative Stimulus (PAS), transcranial magnetic stimulation and \somatosensory localization (TL) are combined into a powerful and effective therapy for brain recovery. ‘Brain Recovery Protocols”, not only allows one to identify lesion sites, but to strongly stimulate a long- term plasticity that has no equal.
The second phase (weekend #2) will concentrate on and emphasize protocols necessary to elicit the deeper, more complex injury patterns. Evaluation of cognitive decline and the emotional links related to brain trauma will be taught. Muscle tonus and peripheral sensory challenges, along with evaluation of the frontal release phenomenon will be learned.
Brain-Recovery is continually evolving and changing with new information and findings. This outline provides the basis of what we know now. New material may be added from the time of this writing and the seminar series.
The 2, 3-day weekend foundation course will include:
Course Outline
I. Introduction to Brain Recovery
- Theoretical background for non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS).
- NIBS history, science and future
- Classic brain stimulation methods
- TDC
- TMC
- Ultrasound
- Music, whole body vibration
- InfraRed light (ie. Gonzales, et. al.)
- Neurogenic stimulating exercises
II. Corticomotor Coherency (CMC)
- Central integration decline leading to descending corticospinal tract fine motor decay
and joint fixation failure.
- Joint fixation failure - Specific functional manual muscle tests (fMMT) evidencing fine motor control
defect.
- The supinator muscle and pronator drift. - Differential diagnosis for CMC decline vs local muscle inhibition.
___ Hands-on Learning
III. Classic neurologic examination challenges for balance, proprioception and coordinatedmovements.
- Varied extremity tests:
-Rhomberg classic, Rhomberg – one leg and eyes open, closed.
- Heel-to-toe, tandem walking, heel-to-shin, finger-nose-finger
- Dysdiadokochinesis, Hand flipping – with elbows bent, arms extended, one-hand
flip/tap of hand dorsum, etc.
- Dual and triple tasking, etc.
- Buttoning, writing, clock drawing - Extensor testing skills immediately following neural challenge.
___ Hands-on Learning
IV. Magnet Science and use in acquired brain injury.
- Magnets in general
- The poles, what they are, what they do.
- The need for magnet flux strength at depth - Neodymium vs ferrite
- Flux strength enhancement
- The ‘push-pull’ method of Cecchi. - Static Transcranial Magnetic Stimulus (sTMS)
- Scientific literature
- Science behind transcranial stimulation
- Pros and cons of transcranial stimulation
V. Use of the magnet in the Brain Recovery Protocol
- Identifying the brain area related to the specific cortical decline.
- Multiple brain site identification and treatment order.
- Noting precise brain locations.
___ Hands-on Learning
VI. Paired Associative Stimulus (PAS)
- History and application
- PAS in brain recovery – locating the peripheral stimulus zone (PSZ)
- Using the meridian system for PSZ localisation.
- Skin stimulation over the PSZ. - Identifying the correct PSZ
- Perform positive neural challenge
- Using joint fixation failure as the neural decline marker for identifying the PSZ.
- Skin stimulation for PSZ confirmation.
VII. Therapeutic intervention
- sTMS, PSZ and patient somatosensory localization
- Exquisite pain response at the PSZ – No pain, no gain.
I. Brain waves & wave hypotheses
- Alpha, beta, gamma, delta
- Frequencies and their importance - Brain wave synchrony/asynchrony theory
- Stimulating brain waves using vibration
- Sonic vs lower Hz. vibration - Low Hz vibration vs percussion
- Temporal vs spatial summation & coherency.
II. Transcranial vibration
- History
- Vibratory device utilization
___ Hands-on Learning
III. Through the eyes
- Smooth pursuit (vertical - horizontal)
- Vergence/convergence
- Head turn, eyes fixed.
- Eyes fixed, head turn
- Optikinetic
___ Hands-on Learning
IV. Peripheral Stimulation Zones (PSZ) and Paired Associative Stimulus (PAS)
- Classic PAS in literature
- Meridian link to PSZ.
- The ten PSZ’s
- B&E identification
- Skin stimulation confirmation - Pain and the PSZ
- PSZ manipulation procedures
___ Hands-on Learning
I. Transcranial percussion Techniques
- Coupled percussion challenges for diffuse axonal trauma and wave disintegration
- Front-back
- Top-bottom
- Inter-hemispheric
- Traumatic shockwave injury mechanics
- Corpus callosum trauma
___ Hands-on Learning
II. Advanced challenges for the central integrative state
- Inhibition decline
- Functional Babinski, Palmomental, etc.
- Functional tests for primitive reflex re-activation - Muscle tone challenge
- The spindle cell and brain
- Tone during gait
- Paretic limb tone challenges - Vibrational challenge for peripheral afferent coherency
- Joint receptor integration challenge - Advanced pursuit and OPK challenges
___ Hands-on Learning
III. Sensory integration and filtering
- Auditory tone integration
- Stroboscopic challenge
- Integration decline and up-regulation with a possible epileptic event (“Pac-man”) - Bilateral sensory challenges
IV. Direct testing of the paretic limb
___ Hands-on Learning
I. Cognitive decline
- Memory
- Executive decision making
- Reasoning
- Problem solving
___ Hands-on Learning
II. Retained (Adverse) Emotions
- Retained injury
- Post-traumatic stress
- Hypothalamus & Frontal lobe connection in retained adverse emotion.
- Hemispheric up-regulation
- Corpus Callosum inter-hemispheric, stress induced up-regulation.
___ Hands-on Learning
Date
Location
HOTEL CARLTON BOLOGNA
Via Montebello, 8, 40121 Bologna BO
Telefono +39 051 249361
carlton@monrifhotels.com