MRI CORTICOGRAPHY: DEVELOPING NEXT GENERATION MICROSCALE HUMAN CORTEX MRI SCANNER

摘要 我们建议的首要目标是将非侵入性人脑成像技术带入微尺度。 (50-500微米各向同性)分辨率，以便创建研究神经元电路和网络的工具 人脑中的组织。我们的突破性技术磁共振皮质成像(MRCOG)代表着 与现有的磁共振成像方法相比有了实质性的进步。MRCOG在空间和空间方面取得了显著进展 几种不同类型线圈阵列聚焦于活体大脑皮层的时间分辨率 人脑。这些具有128个线圈的优化高密度接收器阵列还用作垫片阵列和 从而获得更高质量的成像。高性能的磁场梯度将结合在一起 使用最先进的脉冲序列，在回波平面成像中产生超过30倍的加速。这将是 使我们能够在整个大脑皮层的功能磁共振研究中达到0.4毫米的分辨率。这是前所未有的 人类功能磁共振成像的空间分辨率足以识别大脑皮质不同深度的功能活动 对应于不同的皮质层。MRCOG还将用于实现100-200微米的分辨率 易感性对比图像，这使我们能够映射皮质内轴突连接和 人类大脑皮层的细胞结构。MRCOG的分辨率是目前7T扫描仪的10倍以上 将克服目前在对皮质层和柱的功能和结构进行成像方面的规模限制。 MRCOG的评估和改进将需要使用先进的大脑计算模型 电路、前馈和反馈神经元电路模型和解码的计算模型 使用来自特定层和特定列的功能磁共振成像的数据。进行功能和结构磁共振检查 MRCOG将产生新的途径，在更高的空间数量级探索人类大脑电路 分辨率，虽然重要的是成像整个大脑皮层，而不是通过当前的方法(例如，缩放 成像)，仅测量皮质的小区域。 许多现有的7T核磁共振扫描仪将能够采用MRCOG高分辨率技术； 因此，MRCOG可以迅速传播到神经科学研究中心，并用于推进 医学发现。我们将评估MRCOG解决目前无法观察到的皮质异常的能力 在癫痫和自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)和改善异常定位和标测 大脑中的电路。

SUMMARY The overarching objective of our proposal is to bring noninvasive human brain imaging into the microscale (50-500 micron isotropic) resolution in order to create a tool for studies of neuronal circuitry and network organization in the human brain. Our breakthrough technology, MR Corticography (MRCoG), represents substantial advances over existing MRI approaches. MRCoG achieves dramatic gains in spatial and temporal resolutions by focusing several different types of coil arrays on the cerebral cortex of the live human brain. These optimized high-density receiver arrays with 128 coils also serve as a shim array and thereby obtain much higher quality imaging. High-performance magnetic field gradients will be combined with state-of-the-art pulse sequences to produce over 30-times acceleration in echo planar imaging. This will enable us to reach 0.4 mm resolution in fMRI studies of the entire cerebral cortex. This unprecedented spatial resolution in human fMRI is sufficient to identify functional activity at different depth in the cortex corresponding to different cortical layers. MRCoG will also be used to achieve 100-200 micron resolution susceptibility contrast images and this enables us to map intra-cortical axon connections and the cytoarchitecture of human cortex. With over 10 times higher resolution than current 7T scanners, MRCoG will overcome current scale limitations in imaging the function and structure of cortical layers and columns. The evaluation and refinement of MRCoG will entail using advanced computational models of brain circuitry, feedforward and feedback neuronal circuit models and computational models for decoding the brain using data from layer specific and column specific fMRI. Functional and structural MRI performed with MRCoG will generate new avenues to explore human brain circuitry at an order of magnitude higher spatial resolution, while importantly image the entire cortex rather than by current approaches (e.g. zoomed imaging) that measure only small areas of cortex. Many existing 7T MRI scanners will be able to incorporate MRCoG high-resolution technology; therefore, MRCoG can be rapidly disseminated to neuroscience research centers and used to advance medical discoveries. We will evaluate MRCoG ability to resolve currently unobservable cortex abnormalities in epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to improve localization and mapping of abnormal circuitry in the brain.