Project Summary Functional MRI (fMRI) is the prevailing method for both basic research and clinical functional neuroimaging in humans. A key component behind state-of-the-art fMRI is the multichannel radio frequency (RF) receive coil technology, which enables parallel imaging acceleration for improved spatial and temporal resolution. However, these imaging coils are usually fabricated on a hard helmet-shaped plastic chassis.
Project Summary/Abstract The brain undergoes extensive synaptic plasticity and circuit refinement during development. Similar changes recur throughout life during learning in a more narrowly constrained manner. Understanding how neuronal connections and activity are adaptively remodeled to accommodate a changing world remains an outstanding question in neuroscience research. Recent technological innovations provide unprecedented access to address this.
Project Summary/Abstract Circuits in the brain control motor output to generate the precise behaviors required for survival. Dysfunction of these circuits results in devastating movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It is important to understand how the brain normally controls behavior by understanding what features of motor output are encoded in individual neurons and how these representations are organized across a neuronal population. This K99/R00 proposal will support Dr.
Project summary Nausea is an unpleasant sensation of visceral malaise often accompanied by an involuntary urge to vomit. Nausea responses to toxin ingestion and infection are evolutionarily beneficial survival behaviors that avoid or expel toxins which may cause peripheral tissue damage. However, the sensation of nausea can also be maladaptive, as many treatments for cancer, diabetes, and other illnesses induce nausea as a major side effect, while current anti-emetic drugs have only limited efficacy.
Project summary Our lives unfold over time, weaving rich, dynamic, and multisensory information into a continuous experience. However, we remember this as a series of discrete events. For example, the memory of a two-hour movie consists of a few memorable moments tied to the main story. During encoding, we segment deviant events and associate relevant events. During retrieval, we utilize the temporal association among encoded events to search for specific memory information.
PROJECT SUMMARY The goal of the proposed research career development program is to allow the applicant to acquire training in a new form of brain stimulation using ultrasonic waves. The career development activities will be carried out in a prominent ultrasound laboratory, where the candidate will receive hands-on training in the application and analysis of ultrasonic stimulation in animal models.
ABSTRACT The basal ganglia are critical for the learning and subsequent selection of motor programs. In health, adaptive plasticity in the basal ganglia enables easy execution of complex motor tasks through formation of habits. Conversely, in disease, repetitive behaviors, addictions and compulsions are thought to derive from maladaptive plasticity involving basal ganglia circuitry.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive technique used for neuroscience research and treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders. During TMS, a current-carrying coil placed on the scalp induces an electric field that modulates targeted neuronal circuits. Computational simulations of the electric field (E-field) induced by TMS are increasingly used to gain a mechanistic understanding of the effect of TMS on the brain and to inform its administration.
We experience the world as a continuous sequence of events, but we remember the events as segmented episodes (e.g., my sister’s wedding). During encoding, we associate a sequence of relevant events and segment deviant events. At retrieval, episodic memory utilizes the encoded associations to replay the flow of events. The encoded associations lead to remembering the sequence of events that occurred within an episode better than the flow of events across segments.
During postnatal brain development, newly assembled neural circuits are refined through the strengthening of a subset of synaptic connections and the concurrent elimination of others. This process of synaptic refinement is first coordinated by intrinsically generated neural activity early in life and then driven by sensory experience during a later phase of postnatal development.
