MRI: Acquisition of a 3-Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

该奖项由2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公共法律111-5)资助。非侵入性地研究人脑活动是一项重大的科学挑战，但它对于增强我们对行动、情感和思维的神经基础的理解至关重要。在研究行为的神经基础方面的一项重大技术进步是功能磁共振成像(FMRI)的发展，这是一种基于神经元活动和有氧血流之间紧密耦合的血液动力学技术。功能磁共振成像是非侵入性测量脑局部变化的有力工具，具有高空间分辨率(~1 mm)的血氧水平依赖(BOLD)信号。此外，使用MRI的结构成像可以表征脑组织的体积差异，并指定神经处理和传输的主要路径。这些方法可以与检测大脑活动的时间动态的其他神经成像数据相结合，以建立对人类大脑以及人类认知、行动和情绪背后的神经过程的更完整的理解。一台最先进的3-特斯拉磁共振成像(MRI)扫描仪将为马里兰大学学院公园社区提供这项强大的技术，以研究人类的大脑活动。核磁共振扫描仪将作为马里兰大学脑成像中心(BICAM)的核心设备，并将改变马里兰大学的研究和教育环境。该扫描仪将为认知和情感神经科学的研究提供基础，特别关注人类发展、注意力和记忆、决策和风险、运动控制以及语言和交流。该中心还将为信号处理和磁共振物理学的创新创造机会。该中心及其共享仪器将通过马里兰大学内部的研究和教育一体化以及通过其在当地社区的伙伴关系来培育一个密集的学习环境。核磁共振扫描仪将通过定向研究项目、侧重于实际操作的功能神经成像课程以及对代表不足群体的学生的可及性，来加强研究生和本科教育。该中心还将赞助一个发展认知神经科学夏季研究所，该研究所将把大脑发育和神经成像研究的专家带到马里兰大学。BICAM是马里兰大学神经科学和认知科学(NACS)项目的一部分。该项目包括来自传统行为和神经科学系的教师，如心理学、人类发育、语言学、听觉和言语、运动学，以及来自计算机科学、物理学、应用数学和电气和计算机工程的教师，他们拥有成像、信号处理和磁共振技术的物理基础方面的专业知识。获得新的扫描仪将导致在基础物理和行为科学领域进行广泛的跨学科合作，目标是了解行为的神经基础。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Studying activity of the human brain non-invasively is a major scientific challenge, yet it is essential for enhancing our understanding of the neural bases of action, emotion, and thought. A major technological advancement in studying the neural basis of behavior has been the development of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a hemodynamic technique based on the tight coupling between neuronal activity and oxygenated blood flow. fMRI is a powerful tool for non-invasively measuring local changes in the brain with high spatial resolution (~1 mm) in the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal. Additionally, structural imaging using MRI can characterize volumetric differences in brain tissue and specify major pathways of neural processing and transmission. These approaches can be combined with other neuroimaging data examining the temporal dynamics of brain activity, to establish a more complete understanding of the human brain and the neural processes underlying human cognition, action, and emotion. A state-of-the-art 3-Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner will provide access to this powerful technology to the University of Maryland College Park community for studying human brain activity. The MRI scanner will serve as the centerpiece of the Brain Imaging Center at Maryland (BICAM) and will transform the research and educational environment at the University of Maryland. The scanner will provide the foundation for research in cognitive and affective neuroscience, with specific foci on human development, attention and memory, decision making and risk, motor-control, and language and communication. The center will also create opportunities for innovations in signal processing and magnetic resonance physics. The center and its shared instrumentation will foster an intensive learning environment through the integration of research and education within the University of Maryland and through its partnerships in the local community. The MRI scanner will enhance graduate and undergraduate education through directed research projects, courses with a hands-on focus in functional neuroimaging, and accessibility to students from underrepresented groups. The center will also sponsor a summer institute in developmental cognitive neuroscience which will bring experts in the study of brain development and neuroimaging to the University of Maryland.BICAM is part of the Neuroscience and Cognitive Science (NACS) program at the University of Maryland. This program consists of faculty from traditional behavioral and neuroscience departments such as Psychology, Human Development, Linguistics, Hearing and Speech, and Kinesiology, as well as faculty from Computer Science, Physics, Applied Mathematics, and Electrical and Computer Engineering with expertise in imaging, signal processing, and the physical basis of magnetic resonance technology. Acquisition of the new scanner will lead to broad interdisciplinary collaboration in areas of the basic physical and behavioral sciences with the goal of understanding the neural bases of behavior.