MRI CORTICOGRAPHY: DEVELOPING NEXT GENERATION MICROSCALE HUMAN CORTEX MRI SCANNER

总结 我们提案的首要目标是将非侵入性人脑成像带入微观尺度 （50-500微米各向同性）分辨率，以创建用于神经元电路和网络研究的工具 组织在人脑中。我们的突破性技术，磁共振皮质描记术（MRCoG）， 与现有的MRI方法相比有了很大的进步。MRCoG在空间和 通过将几种不同类型的线圈阵列聚焦在肝脏的大脑皮层上 人脑这些具有128个线圈的优化的高密度接收器阵列也用作匀场阵列， 从而获得更高质量的成像。高性能的磁场梯度将结合 具有最先进的脉冲序列，以在回波平面成像中产生超过30倍的加速。这将 使我们能够在整个大脑皮层的功能磁共振成像研究中达到0.4毫米的分辨率。这一前所未有 人类功能磁共振成像的空间分辨率足以识别大脑皮层不同深度的功能活动 对应于不同的皮层。MRCoG还将用于实现100-200微米的分辨率 磁化率对比图像，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的分辨率比目前的7 T扫描仪高出10倍以上， 将克服当前在对皮层层和柱的功能和结构进行成像方面的尺度限制。 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以及用于解码神经元电路的计算模型。 使用层特异性和列特异性功能磁共振成像的数据。进行功能和结构MRI， MRCoG将产生新的途径，以更高的空间数量级探索人类大脑回路 分辨率，而重要的是对整个皮层成像，而不是通过当前的方法（例如，缩放 仅测量皮质的小区域。 许多现有的7 T MRI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）中，并改善异常 大脑中的回路

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.