In Vivo Imaging of Brain Connectivity

大脑连接的体内成像

• 批准号: 6957460
• 负责人: Lawrence H Snyder
• 金额: $ 7.65万
• 依托单位: WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-08-01 至 2007-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6957460
• 关键词: Macaca mulatta; bioimaging /biomedical imaging; brain imaging /visualization /scanning; brain mapping; cerebral cortex; histology; image processing; magnetic resonance imaging; manganese; neural information processing; neuroanatomy

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Connectivity is critical to understanding how the brain works. Currently, most connectivity data is obtained in post-mortem histology studies, which are labor intensive, require the use of many animals, and can only be performed once per animal. Magnetic resonance imaging methods offer much increased efficiency and, because they are performed entirely in vivo, can be repeated as often as desired on the same animal. Diffusion tensor imaging is useful for studying brain connectivity in humans, but in animals, increased resolution and specificity can be obtained by injecting an MR-lucent tracer substance directly into the brain area whose connectivity is in question. Manganese has been used for this purpose in rats and birds, and has been used to trace large subcortical connections in monkeys. We propose to develop a methodology for studying detailed cortical connectivity in living primates, using cerebral manganese injections coupled with MRI analysis and visualization. We will optimize injection techniques, data acquisition and post-processing for intracortical and cortical-subcortical projections. In order to validate our results, we will co-inject manganese with histologic tracers and then compare the results of standard post-mortem histologic analysis with the manganese-enhanced MRI data. Successful development of this method could revolutionize the study of connectivity in monkeys, permitting, for example, precise determinations of how the cortex is rewired in development, skill acquisition and in recovery from lesions. It will also facilitate determinations of areal boundaries in relation to physiologically determined functions, and has the potential to greatly increase our understanding of how circuits in the brain process information. Perhaps the greatest health-related impact of this work will be on rehabilitation after brain injury, since this method will allow us to interrogate brain connectivity as individual subjects respond to and recover from, or fail to recover from, brain insults.

描述（由申请人提供）：连接对于理解大脑如何工作至关重要。目前，大多数连接性数据是在死后组织学研究中获得的，这些研究是劳动密集型的，需要使用许多动物，并且每只动物只能进行一次。磁共振成像方法的效率大大提高，并且由于它们完全在体内进行，因此可以在同一只动物上根据需要多次重复。扩散张量成像可用于研究人类的大脑连接性，但在动物中，可以通过将 MR 透明示踪物质直接注射到连接性存在问题的大脑区域来获得更高的分辨率和特异性。锰已被用于大鼠和鸟类的这一目的，并已被用于追踪猴子的大型皮层下连接。 我们建议开发一种方法来研究活体灵长类动物的详细皮质连接，使用脑锰注射结合 MRI 分析和可视化。我们将优化皮质内和皮质-皮质下投影的注射技术、数据采集和后处理。为了验证我们的结果，我们将同时注射锰和组织学示踪剂，然后将标准死后组织学分析的结果与锰增强 MRI 数据进行比较。 这种方法的成功开发可能会彻底改变猴子连接性的研究，例如，可以精确确定大脑皮层在发育、技能获取和损伤恢复过程中如何重新连接。它还将有助于确定与生理确定功能相关的区域边界，并有可能大大增加我们对大脑回路如何处理信息的理解。也许这项工作对健康相关的最大影响将是脑损伤后的康复，因为这种方法将使我们能够在个体受试者对脑损伤做出反应并从脑损伤中恢复或未能恢复时询问大脑连接性。