The University established the Neuropsychiatric Institute, dedicated to the study of the neurosciences, in 1939. It was the first institute of its kind in the United States, and promoted many advances in the fields of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry. The Department of Neurosurgery has included such illustrious figures as Dr. Eric Oldberg (the first department head), Dr. Paul Bucy, and Dr. Percival Bailey.
The Neuropsychiatric Institute, completely renovated since 1995, today houses the Neurosurgery administrative offices and research laboratories, as well as the departments of Neurology & Rehabilitation and Psychiatry. The building also includes state-of-the-art microsurgical and neuropathology laboratories, closed-circuit television connections to the hospital operating rooms, a neuroscience library, and a well-equipped auditorium (converted from an original operating room amphitheater). The interventional neuroradiologists also have offices in the building, as well as a reading room for review of imaging studies.
The Neurosurgery Department, in addition to serving the local community, specializes in cases that are difficult for practicing neurosurgeons to manage—complex aneurysms, skull base tumors, intractable epilepsy, pain management, and skull base and spinal cord tumors. Many community neurosurgeons throughout the midwest refer their patients to us for specialized care. Our faculty includes recognized experts in cerebrovascular disease, interventional neuroradiology, neuro-oncology, spinal neurosurgery, peripheral nerve surgery, pediatrics, and pain management and movement disorders.
The Department also collaborates with other services in the medical center to provide appropriate care for our patients, such as stereotactic radiosurgery (Radiation Oncology), craniofacial surgery (The Craniofacial Center), pituitary tumors (ENT), and stroke (Neurology).
Research is a major focus in the Department, for both faculty and residents. The Department is currently participating in a major study, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, of EC-IC bypass in patients with symptomatic carotid occlusion. Other recent research has dealt with computerized neurovascular blood flow analysis and simulation, neurocognitive analysis, functional neuroimaging, interstitial hypothermia, and cerebral oximetry. As in its clinical practice, the Department collaborates with other services to conduct neuroscience research—such collaborations include a Stroke Center, a Neuro-oncology group, and an Epilepsy Center. Research in related fields—bioengineering, molecular biology, neuroradiology—is encouraged.
