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 基于血液氧合水平（BOLD）对比的功能性MRI（fMRI）已成为一个 强大的神经影像模式，并在神经科学中获得了重要的成像大脑的立场 在工作状态和功能连通性处于静止状态。但是，大多数fMRI研究都集中在 宏观量表在系统水平上的功能映射。最近，高分辨率 超高领域的fMRI显示了映射基本功能活性的可行性 从眼优势到方向柱的计算单元。这种前所未有的神经影像学 能力为研究大脑功能，连通性和电路的激动人心的机会打开了 介质量表。然而，神经计算过程分布在六个皮质上 层层从皮表面到白质，并参与进料，喂食和喂食 根据皮质深度隔离的局部连接。能够映射这种层流和 大型网络之间的圆柱依赖性功能和连接性极具挑战性，并且具有 到目前为止还没有实现。此外，粗体信号仅反映神经元的次要效应 活动，大胆测量和基础神经活动之间的转化变成 在不同的空间尺度上复杂，层次/柱状水平的神经折叠相关性尚未 由于各种技术障碍而被研究。 fMRI中的另一个高度相关的未解决问题是 神经元抑制如何改变神经元动力学和网络，以及fMRI BOLD信号。欠 正常大脑活动的高复杂性不可避免地会引起兴奋性和抑制作用 过程，有选择地研究BOLD与抑制性的神经元相关性是一个艰巨的挑战 神经调节。为了解决这些问题和挑战，该建议旨在推动技术 通过开发能够创新的多模式FMRI方法，超越当前水平的信封 具有功能映射特异性和 降低到介质量表。尖端技术和开发的工具将使我们能够 研究细胞柱和层流水平的大脑功能和连通性 - 最基本的两个 对于大脑功能必不可少的微电路的神经计算单元，仍然覆盖大型网络 通过猫大脑中的丘脑皮质和皮质皮质连接。这项研究将首次 提供有关时空中神经动力学的新知识，以及fMRI BOLD的神经复合物 响应于层流/柱状水平的兴奋性或抑制性神经调节的信号。这样的知识 不可能从人类脑研究中获得，但应该导致变革性的突破 了解定义的计算单元，动态功能和 人脑网络；并提供有关电生理基础和映射特异性的新见解 在层流和柱状级别的fMRI。