Integrated fMRI Methods to Study Neurophysiology and Circuit Dynamics at Laminar and Columnar Level

用于研究层状和柱状水平神经生理学和电路动力学的集成功能磁共振成像方法

• 批准号: 9353885
• 负责人: Wei Chen
• 金额: $ 91.1万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-09-16 至 2021-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9353885
• 关键词: Address; Affect; Animal Experimentation; Biomedical Engineering; Brain; Brain Mapping; Brain imaging; Cell Nucleus; Complex; Deep Brain Stimulation; Devices; Electrodes; Electrophysiology (science); Felis catus; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; G-Banding; Human; Image; Imaging technology; Knowledge; Lateral Geniculate Body; Lead; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Maps; Measures; Metabolic; Metals; Microelectrodes; Modality; Modeling; Morphologic artifacts; Neurons; Neurosciences; Ocular Dominance; Ocular dominance columns; Outcome; Outcomes Research; Pathway interactions; Patients; Positioning Attribute; Predisposition; Process; Research; Resolution; Rest; Signal Transduction; Specificity; Structure; Structure-Activity Relationship; Surface; System; Technology; Testing; Time; Translations; Visual; Visual Cortex; Visual system structure; Work; area striata; awake; base; blood oxygen level dependent; brain research; feeding; hemodynamics; imaging approach; imaging modality; innovation; insight; interest; miniaturize; multimodality; neural correlate; neural stimulation; neuroimaging; neuromechanism; neurophysiology; neuroregulation; neurotransmission; novel; optogenetics; orientation columns; relating to nervous system; response; tool; white matter

Project Description Functional MRI (fMRI) based on the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast has become a powerful neuroimaging modality and has gained a prominent position in neuroscience for imaging brain activation at working state and functional connectivity at rest. However, most of fMRI research focus on functional mapping of brain activity at the system level with macroscopic scale. Recently, high-resolution fMRI at ultrahigh field has shown the feasibility of mapping the functional activity of elementary computational units from ocular dominance to orientation column. Such unprecedented neuroimaging ability opens up exciting opportunities for studying brain function, connectivity and circuitry at the mesoscopic scale. Nevertheless, the neural computational processes are distributed across six cortical laminae spanning from the pial surface to the white matter, and engage feed-forward, feed-backward and local connections that are segregated according to the cortical depth. Ability to map such laminar and columnar dependent functionality and connectivity across large networks is extremely challenging and has not been achieved to date. Moreover, the BOLD signal only reflects the secondary effect of neuronal activity, the transformation between the BOLD measure and the underlying neural activity becomes complicated at varied spatial scale, and the neuro-BOLD correlation at the laminar/columnar level has not been studied due to a variety of technical hurdles. Another highly relevant unanswered question in fMRI is how does neuronal inhibition change the neural dynamics and networks, and the fMRI BOLD signal. Owing to the high complexity of normal brain activities unavoidably involving both excitatory and inhibition processes, it is a daunting challenge to selectively study the neural correlate of BOLD to inhibitory neuromodulation. To address these questions and challenges, this proposal aims to push the technology envelope beyond the current level by developing innovative multimodal fMRI approaches capable of simultaneous neural stimulation, recording and fMRI acquisition with functional mapping specificity and resolution down to the mesoscopic scale. The cutting-edge technology and developed tools will allow us to investigate brain function and connectivity at cellular columnar and laminar levels—two most fundamental neural computational units for micro-circuits essential for brain function, and still cover large networks through thalamo-cortical and cortico-cortical connections in the cat brain. For the first time, the research will provide new knowledge about the neural dynamics in space and time, and neural correlates of fMRI BOLD signal in response to excitatory or inhibitory neuromodulation at laminar/columnar levels. Such knowledge is impossible to gain from the human brain research, but should lead to transformative breakthroughs in understanding the structure-function relationship of defined computational units, dynamic functions and networks of the human brain; and provide new insights into electrophysiology basis and mapping specificity of fMRI at the laminar and columnar levels.

项目描述 基于血氧水平依赖 (BOLD) 对比的功能性 MRI (fMRI) 已成为一种 强大的神经成像模式，并在大脑成像的神经科学领域获得了显着的地位 然而，大多数功能磁共振成像研究都集中在工作状态下的激活和休息时的功能连接。 最近，在宏观尺度上对大脑活动进行了高分辨率的绘制。 超高场功能磁共振成像显示了绘制基本功能活动图谱的可行性 从眼优势到定向柱的计算单元，这种前所未有的神经成像。 能力为研究大脑功能、连接性和电路提供了令人兴奋的机会 然而，神经计算过程分布在六个皮质中。 从软脑膜表面跨越到白质的薄层，并参与前馈、后馈和 根据皮质深度分离的局部连接能够映射此类层流和层流。 跨大型网络的柱状依赖功能和连接性极具挑战性，并且具有 此外，BOLD信号仅反映了神经的次级效应。 活动时，BOLD 测量与底层神经活动之间的转换变为 在不同的空间尺度上很复杂，并且层状/柱状水平上的神经-BOLD相关性还没有 由于功能磁共振成像中的各种技术障碍，另一个高度相关的悬而未决的问题得到了研究。 神经抑制如何改变神经动力学和网络，以及 fMRI BOLD 信号。 正常大脑活动的高度复杂性不可避免地涉及兴奋性和抑制性 过程中，有选择地研究 BOLD 与抑制的神经相关性是一项艰巨的挑战 为了解决这些问题和挑战，该提案旨在推动该技术的发展。 通过开发创新的多模态功能磁共振成像方法，超越当前水平 同时进行神经刺激、记录和功能磁共振成像采集，具有功能映射特异性和 尖端技术和开发的工具将使我们能够将分辨率降低到介观尺度。 研究细胞柱状和层状水平上的大脑功能和连接性——两个最基本的水平 用于大脑功能所必需的微电路的神经计算单元，并且仍然覆盖大型网络 该研究将首次通过猫大脑中的丘脑皮质和皮质皮质连接。 提供有关时空神经动力学以及 fMRI 神经相关性的新知识 BOLD 响应层流/柱状水平的兴奋性或抑制性神经调节的信号。 不可能从人脑研究中获益，但应该会带来革命性的突破 理解定义的计算单元、动态函数和的结构-功能关系 人脑网络；并为电生理学基础和映射特异性提供新的见解 层状和柱状水平的功能磁共振成像。