3.0 Tesla MRI for Psychiatric Applications

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Center for Advanced Brain Imaging (CABI) is a multi-disciplinary MRI-based research facility within the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research (NKI), which is supported by the State of New York Office of Mental Health (OMH). The facilities within the CABI are 100% available for clinical and basic research. The Center supports brain research into mental health related disorders with emphasis upon Schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, dementia and aging and substance abuse. Basic imaging research includes the physiological basis of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), BOLD-fMRI and brain-based cognition, attention and sensory integration of function. Novel drug therapies for psychiatric illness are investigated. In all these areas of scientific inquiry, an overall theme is detected; the relationship between structures of the brain, as detected by structural brain imaging (anatomical MRI, contrast enhanced MRI and DTI) and the functional use and integrity of the tissues studied, detected with BOLD-fMRI, perfusion imaging, proton spectroscopy, or electrophysiological methods. The goal of this proposal is to make possible the acquisition of a research dedicated 3.0 Tesla MRI with parallel imaging technology and spectroscopic imaging capabilities, to accommodate ongoing NIH funded and planned research into the functional consequences and structural correlates psychiatric disease. This instrumentation, and the state-of-the-art parallel imaging methodology it provides will accelerate patient oriented imaging protocols, enhance spatial resolution and image acquisition speed and reduce geometric and intensity distortions to a manageable level while increasing signal-to-noise. These improvements will greatly facilitate our investigations into micro-structural and gross structural deficits, as well as the functional consequences of emerging, expressed and/or chronic Schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, dementia and substance abuse. Spectroscopic (metabolite) imaging, functional brain imaging and DTI, the central measures of use, will be greatly facilitated by this instrumentation due to their inherent sensitivity to SNR and speed. The infrastructure support required to manage a strong imaging center focused on neuropsychiatric research is already in place, including physics, technician and administrative support structures, as well as oversight and protocol facilitation and review processes. Support for testing of novel hypotheses stemming from existing NIH research is provided.