Gov. Kasich authored an op-ed in The Hill that highlights the importance of continued and advancing brain research.

See an excerpt below and read the full op-ed here.

“What is it about a frontier? Whether it is a continent, the Moon or, today, the planet Mars, a frontier is a powerful motivator that speaks to a drive inside all of us to go further and higher. In our constant search for new frontiers, an obvious place is being overlooked, a place about which we still know so little, but which holds enormous potential for improving our lives. And the trip is much shorter — just to the top of our shoulders, to our brains. Given how important the brain is to everything else we do, it’s a trip worth taking.

More than 100 million Americans ― close to a third of the country ― suffer from brain and neurological conditions, with the most prevalent of these conditions — including dementia, stroke and mental health disorders — costing approximately $800 billion annually. Despite these costs, efforts to treat these conditions produce strong results, with every $1 spent treating conditions like depression and anxiety returning $4 in better health and ability to work. Ultimately, the human toll of neurological conditions is incalculable and can bring extraordinary pain, sadness and frustration to patients and families. Easing it is the goal of discovery and care.

Though many treatments are still in development, significant advances in neuroscience have been made, with technologies and benefits so amazing that they approach the miraculous. Brain-computer interface technology can help those with spinal cord injuries regain movement in limbs — and even play the guitar. To treat the tremors of conditions like Parkinson’s Disease, implanted brain pacemakers help patients live normal lives. This technology has also shown promise in treating epilepsy and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Similarly, focused ultrasound technology can stop tremors non-invasively and is being studied to combat Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Read the full op-ed here.

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