Theory & Data Analysis Tools

Project Summary: High SNR Functional Brain Imaging using Oscillating Steady State MRI Functional brain imaging using MRI (functional MRI or fMRI) has grown rapidly over the past 25 years and is widely used for basic cognitive neuroscience research and for presurgical planning. It is increasingly being used for developing biomarkers for neurological and psychiatric disorders and for population based studies of, for example, normal and abnormal development and aging.

PROJECT SUMMARY    Understanding how neural circuits operate and interconnect at mesoscopic (sub-­millimeter) scale, and how  neuroenergetic  metabolism  and  neurotransmitters  support  brain  function  at  resting  and  working  state  is  essential to brain research and 

SUMMARY We present Connectome 2.0, the next-generation human MRI scanner for imaging structural anatomy and connectivity spanning the microscopic, mesoscopic and macroscopic scales. This work builds upon our expertise in engineering the first human Connectome MRI scanner with 300 mT/m maximum gradient strength (Gmax), the highest ever achieved for a human system, for the Human Connectome Project (HCP). The goal of the HCP was to map the macroscopic structural connections of the in vivo healthy adult human brain using diffusion tractography.

We propose to design, build, and evaluate the Scanner Approaching in Vivo Autoradiographic Neuro Tomography (SAVANT), a next generation PET scanner for ultra-high resolution imaging of the human brain using hardware advances developed by members of our collaborative team to achieve unprecedented spatial resolution and count rate capabilities. The system will have a volumetric resolution close to 1 mm3 (isotropic spatial resolution close to 1 mm), which is approximately 27 fold better than the best dedicated brain PET scanners and 125 fold better than general purpose PET scanners.

Project Summary This grant will develop a wireless wearable high-performance, high-density diffuse optical tomography (DOT) instrument for mapping of brain function in naturalistic settings. Functional neuroimaging of healthy adults has enabled mapping of brain function and revolutionized cognitive neuroscience. Increasingly, functional neuroimaging is being used in younger age groups, and as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in the clinical setting. Its expanding application in the study of both health and disease necessitates new, more flexible tools.

ABSTRACT Short-term working memory is critical for all cognition. It is important to fluid intelligence by definition and is disordered in many psychiatric conditions. It is also an ideal model system for studying the link between the dynamics and functions of neural circuits. Short-term storage requires dynamics that are flexible enough to allow continuous incorporation of new information, yet stable enough to retain information for tens of seconds. Much is known about the neuronal substrate of short-term memory.

Project Summary Throughout life, humans and other animals learn statistical regularities in the natural acoustic environment. They adapt their hearing to emphasize the features of sound that are important for making behavioral decisions. Normal-hearing humans are able to perceive important sounds in crowded noisy scenes and to understand the speech of individuals the first time they meet. However, patients with peripheral hearing loss or central processing disorders often have problems hearing in these challenging settings, even when sound is amplified above perceptual threshold.

Project Summary/Abstract: There is significant current interest in understanding how neurons relate to whole-brain networks and how these networks coordinate to give rise to behavior.

PROJECT SUMMARY Understanding how individual neurons contribute to network functions is fundamental to neuroscience. Recent years have seen exciting progresses in the reconstructions of single-neuron morphologies and wiring diagrams at the level of individual synapses. Although these progresses offer promises of understanding neuronal networks, such understandings would not be reached if we do not understand how the structural details of single neurons contribute to the network connectivity.

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT This project focuses on developing new analysis tools to investigate the mechanisms of information routing in primate fronto-striatal circuits during goal-directed behavior. These tools are part of a seamless analysis pipeline that will enable neuroscience researchers to rigorously test hypotheses fast and with a minimum of translation between incompatible strategies and tools. The rationale for developing these tools is that evidence from recent studies suggests that information routing and changes in routing happen during transient bursts of activity.