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(由申请者提供)：连接性对于理解大脑的工作方式至关重要。目前，大多数连接数据是在死后组织学研究中获得的，这是劳动密集型的，需要使用许多动物，并且每只动物只能执行一次。磁共振成像方法提供了更高的效率，因为它们完全在体内进行，可以在同一动物身上重复多次。扩散张量成像有助于研究人类大脑的连通性，但在动物中，通过将MR-Lucent示踪物质直接注入连接性有问题的大脑区域，可以获得更高的分辨率和特异性。锰已在老鼠和鸟类中用于这一目的，并已被用于追踪猴子的皮质下大型连接。 我们建议开发一种方法来研究活着的灵长类动物的详细皮质连接，使用脑内锰注射结合MRI分析和可视化。我们将优化注射技术、数据采集和后处理，以进行皮质内和皮质下投影。为了验证我们的结果，我们将联合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给猴子连接性的研究带来革命性的变化，例如，可以精确地确定大脑皮质在发育、技能获得和损伤恢复过程中是如何重新连接的。它还将有助于确定与生理决定的功能有关的区域边界，并有可能极大地提高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的最大影响将是脑损伤后的康复，因为这种方法将允许我们在个体受试者对大脑侮辱做出反应、从大脑侮辱中恢复或无法恢复时，询问大脑的连通性。