Imaging gray matter structure in human auditory cortex

人类听觉皮层灰质结构成像

• 批准号: 6793183
• 负责人: Jennifer Renee Melcher
• 金额: $ 13.68万
• 依托单位: MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-09-01 至 2006-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6793183
• 关键词: auditory cortex; bioimaging /biomedical imaging; brain imaging /visualization /scanning; brain mapping; brain morphology; clinical research; magnetic resonance imaging; myelination; neuroanatomy; periaqueductal gray matter; psychophysics; structural biology; three dimensional imaging /topography

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Attempts to relate structure and function in human auditory cortex have been seriously impeded by our inability to discern the internal architecture of cortical gray matter in living humans. Here, we propose exploiting and extending recent advances in structural MRI to resolve features of human gray matter myeloarchitecture and thickness in vivo. High-field scanning, specially-designed imaging coils, and state-of the-art 3D analysis and visualization techniques will be used to resolve - on a submillimeter scale - features of gray matter architecture (i.e., laminar structure, myelin density, thickness) that would normally be discernable only in postmortem tissue. By spatially mapping these gray matter features, we propose to delineate anatomical areas that define auditory cortical organization at a fundamental level (e.g., core, belt), but have never before been distinguished in the living human brain. Combined with functional neuroimaging, this work will enable cortical neuroanatomy and function to be related in individual humans, in ways that have so far only been possible in animals. By providing unprecedented access to the cortical neuroanatomy of living humans, the proposed work promises to open new avenues for understanding the structural underpinnings of hearing, speech, and language processes, both normal and abnormal.

描述(由申请人提供)：由于我们无法辨别活人大脑皮质灰质的内部结构，试图将人类听觉皮质的结构和功能联系起来的努力受到了严重阻碍。在这里，我们建议开发和扩展结构磁共振的最新进展，以解决在活体内人类灰质的髓结构和厚度的特征。高场扫描、特别设计的成像线圈以及最先进的3D分析和可视化技术将被用于在亚毫米尺度上解析灰质结构的特征(即层状结构、髓鞘密度、厚度)，这些特征通常只有在身体组织中才能辨认出来。通过空间映射这些灰质特征，我们建议描绘在基本水平上定义听觉皮质组织的解剖区域(例如，核心、带)，但以前从未在活着的人脑中区分出来。与功能神经成像相结合，这项工作将使皮质神经解剖学和功能在人类个体中以迄今仅在动物中才能实现的方式联系在一起。通过提供对活人皮质神经解剖学的前所未有的访问，拟议的工作有望为理解听力、言语和语言过程的结构基础开辟新的途径，无论是正常的还是异常的。