Non-invasive neuromodulation suite

大脑包含复杂的网络，允许我们处理世界上的感觉信息，并进行思考和做出决定，以便与我们的环境互动。在过去的20年里，通过各种脑成像技术，包括大脑的磁共振成像(MRI)，在了解大脑如何编码信息方面取得了重大进展。神经学家可以想象大脑的结构，它如何在特定的想法、感知和行动中发挥作用，以及区域如何相互连接。最近，经颅磁刺激(TMS)的非侵入性神经调节已成为脑区因果标测及其相互联系的有力工具。TMS向头皮施加精确的磁脉冲，将瞬时神经噪音引入大脑皮层的离散区域，从而扰乱处理。对TMS前后行为的测量可以对TMS靶区的功能和连通性进行因果推断。当与功能磁共振成像(FMRI)配对时，TMS靶区可以通过功能立体定位进行精确靶向，从而实现靶点的精确定位和功能区域的检查，而不仅仅是解剖脑区。这项研究方案建立在我实验室现有的TMS和MRI基础设施上，将为学术合作者和受训者提供更多使用尖端神经科学工具检查大脑的机会。建议的研究工具是：1)新的TMS刺激器(当前机器已使用10年，截至2018年1月不受供应商支持，并且在实验过程中不断出现故障，导致数据丢失)。新刺激器的性能将像目前的刺激器一样，但也将允许快速的theta Burst刺激方案；2)用于以双盲方式提供安慰剂刺激的假/安慰剂刺激线圈，从而减少控制条件的数量，缩短实验范例，并增加实验的复杂性；3)TMS-fMRI立体定位反射球；4)更新MRI分析软件许可证，以增强图形表示，对大型fMRI数据集进行更新，更快的分析；5)用于视觉刺激提供的工作站和6)用于数据分析的高性能工作站。我的实验室位于一个研究中心，那里聚集了使用神经成像技术的神经科学家，他们在不同的领域工作，以了解大脑如何引导行为，使其成为协作新奇研究和开发的温床。我有许多内部和外部的协作者，这个基础设施将为他们的总部产生竞争优势。这项研究技术将帮助培训HQP从本科生到博士后水平，了解绘制大脑及其网络的最新技术，从而使它们在研究、工业和临床环境中具有很高的市场价值。

The brain contains complex networks that allow us to process sensory information in the world and to think and make decisions in order to interact with our environment. Over the past 20 years significant advances have been made in understanding how the brain codes information through various brain imaging techniques including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. Neuroscientists can image the brain’s structure, how it functions during specific thoughts, perceptions and actions and how regions connect to one another. Most recently, non-invasive neuromodulation with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been a powerful tool for causal mapping of brain regions and their interconnectivity. TMS applies a precise magnetic pulse to the scalp to introduce transient neural noise into a discrete region of cortex thereby disrupting processing. Measurement of behavior before and after TMS allows for causal inferences about the function and connectivity of the TMS-targeted region. When paired with functional MRI (fMRI), TMS target regions can be precisely targeted through functional stereotaxy thereby allowing precise localization of target sites and examination of functional rather than just anatomical brain regions. This research proposal builds upon existing TMS and MRI infrastructure in my lab and will provide academic collaborators and trainees with enhanced opportunity to examine the brain with cutting edge neuroscience tools. The proposed research tools are: 1) a new TMS Stimulator (the current machine is 10 years old, not supported by the vendor as of January 2018 and continuously breaks down during experiments causing data loss). The new stimulator will perform like the current stimulator but also will allow fast theta burst stimulation protocols; 2) a sham/placebo stimulation coil for delivery of placebo stimulation in a double blind manner thereby reducing the number of control conditions, shortening experimental paradigms and increasing experimental sophistication; 3) TMS-fMRI stereotaxic reflective spheres; 4) updated MRI analysis software licenses to enable enhanced graphical representations and newer, faster analyses of large fMRI datasets; 5) a workstation for visual stimulus delivery and 6) a high-performance workstation for data analysis. My lab is housed in a research centre where there is a concentration of neuroscientists using neuroimaging techniques and working in diverse areas to understand how the brain guides behavior, making it a hotbed for collaborative novel research and development. I have a number of internal and external collaborators and this infrastructure will yield a competitive edge for their HQP. This research technology will assist in training HQP from undergraduate to postdoctoral levels on the latest techniques in mapping the brain and its networks thereby making them highly marketable in research, industry and clinical settings.