Development of tools for non-invasive human spinal cord research

我们对人类脊髓解剖和功能的了解来自于对麻醉动物的侵入性研究，以及对人类损伤影响的观察和死后研究。虽然这些研究提供了丰富的信息，但仍有一些特征尚不清楚。磁共振成像（MRI）的发展使得非侵入性观察人体内部解剖成为可能，功能磁共振成像（fMRI）使神经元活动映射响应刺激成为可能。在我的实验室用这些方法进行的研究揭示了以前未知的解剖学和功能特征。例如，已经观察到对感觉的注意与脊髓中的神经元活动之间存在联系。我们还发现，每次心跳时脊髓的运动幅度会降低，在脊髓下部，腰椎区域基本静止不动。后一项调查结果是本建议第一部分的基础。

Our knowledge of human spinal cord anatomy and function comes from invasive studies of anaesthetized animals, and from observations of the effects of injuries in humans, and from post-mortem studies. While these have yielded a wealth of information, there are still features that are poorly understood. The development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has made it possible to observe human internal anatomy non-invasively, and functional MRI (fMRI) has enabled mapping of neuronal activity in response to a stimulus. Studies carried out in my lab with these methods have revealed previously unknown features of anatomy and function. For example, a link has been observed between attention to a sensation and neuronal activity in the spinal cord. We have also discovered that the motion of the spinal cord that occurs with each heart-beat decreases in amplitude lower in the cord, and the lumbar region is essentially motionless. This latter finding is the basis for the first part of this proposal.