What is ORCCAMIND

Initially created in 1999 through funding from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health, ORCCAMIND is a center without walls committed to complementary & alternative medicine (CAM) research in neurological disorders. Studies examine the breadth of CAM approaches, including dietary supplements, yoga, acupuncture, chiropractic manipulation, meditation and other mind/body medicine.

Current research affiliated with the ORCCAMIND program include the BENFRA Botanical Dietary Supplements Research Center at OHSU, https://www.ohsu.edu/benfra-bdsrc, and research performed as part of the T32 institutional training grant, https://www.ohsu.edu/orccamind/orccamind-academics-and-training on "CAM Research Training in Neuroscience and Stress", both of which are funded by the NCCIH.

Who is involved

Collaboration between conventional and alternative medicine communities is a major goal of ORCCAMIND. Using OHSU's Neuroscience Research facilities as a locale, the center will combine the expertise of the following member institutions: Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University in Corvallis, National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in Portland, Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland and University of Western States Chiropractic College in Portland.

What is our mission

The Center's mission is to facilitate research and education on the effectiveness and mechanisms of action of complementary and alternative medicine therapies in the treatment of neurological disorders. Barry Oken, MD, PhD, is director of ORCCAMIND. He has worked as a neurologist for OHSU for the past 37 years and is currently a professor in the departments of Neurology, Behavioral Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering. His professional focus has been on cognitive neuroscience in general but he is especially interested in the effects of psychological stress on well-being, and whether mind-body interventions may improve outcomes such as cognition, stress reactivity and well-being.