History of the creation and activity of the Functional Neurology Research Unit over 30 years

Abstract

Background: The Functional Neurology Research Unit (FNRU) was created in 1992 at the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Republic of Moldova. The activity of the scientific unit was essentially based on the concept of Functional Neurology, which was published in an article in the prestigious Italian journal Functional Neurology (1998) and continues to be further developed by Professors I. Moldovanu and V. Vovc. Conclusions: Physiological aspects in the researches carried out by collaborators of the FNRU concerned research of breathing pattern, autonomic parameters of suprasegmental and segmental level (research of heart rate variability, segmental vegetative samples, etc.), reactivity of cerebral vessels to modeled hypocapnia, trigeminal, somesthetic, visual, auditory evoked potentials in patients with chronic headache, etc. To conclude, the scientific objectives of the research carried out by the collaborators of the Functional Neurology Research Unit during 30 years of activity – the development of the problem of identifying and using the huge, so far still insufficiently researched possibilities of the “reserves” of the human brain for therapeutic purposes (treatment of chronic pain, movement disorders as a result of organic brain lesions, autonomic disorders, etc.) in the context of a new, modern and advanced understanding of the relationship and interaction of the human brain, psyche and body within a social background which is the essence of the functional neurology.

Keywords

• functional neurology
• research
• autonomic disorders
• chronic pain