Multimodal Functional and Structural Neuroimaging
Multimodal Neuroimaging Acquisition and Analyses Techniques.
Our Lab harnesses the combination of functional neuroimaging for both task-based activation studies and functional connectivity studies (panels A-B). Our analyses approaches closely follow the Human Connectome Project approach to achieve neurobiologically grounded analyses that respect cortical and subcortical anatomy (Glasser et al., 2013) (panels C-D). We also acquire additional modalities such as diffusion-weighted scans and structural scans (panels E-H) to address structure/function relationships. Bottom panels show myelin maps based on Glasser & Van Essen (2011).
Summary:
Our lab uses optimized data collection procedures provided by Human Connectome Project. Specifically, we use accelerated echo planar imaging (EPI) pulse sequences based on the multi-band (MB) approach (Finberg et al., 2010). This effectively allows us to acquire whole-brain functional data at ~2mm isotropic voxels with 700msec volumetric acquisition time (about 3x faster than standard BOLD neuroimaging) (see figure on the right panels A-B). Our analyses approaches closely follow the HCP approaches advocating minimal preprocessing and neurobiologically grounded analyses that respect the geometry of cortical and sub-cortical structures for each individual brain (Glasser et al., 2013).
Representative publications:
Anticevic, A., Dierker, D., Gillespie, S.K., Repovs, G., Van Essen, D.C., Csernansky, J.G., & Barch, D.M. (2008). Comparing surface-based and volume-based analyses of functional neuroimaging data in patients with schizophrenia. Neuroimage. 41(3):835-48. [Link]
Glasser, M.F., Sotiropoulos, S.N., Wilson, A.J., Coalson, T.S., Fischl, B., Andersson, J.L., Xu, J., Jbabdi, S., Webster, M., Polimeni, J.R., Van Essen, D.C., Jenkinson, M. (2013). The minimal preprocessing pipelines for the Human Connectome Project. Neuroimage 80: 105-124. [Link]
Note: Data were provided [in part] by the Human Connectome Project, WU-Minn Consortium (Principal Investigators: David Van Essen and Kamil Ugurbil; 1U54MH091657) funded by the 16 NIH Institutes and Centers that support the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research; and by the McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience at Washington University.