Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine how cerebral cortex composition and structure underlie mental performance

人类大脑皮层在包括运动、记忆、知觉、认知和情绪在内的所有精神活动中起着关键作用。它的结构和组成在生命过程中会发生变化，并在个体之间表现出相当大的差异。因此，大脑研究人员问：大脑皮层的神经生物学是如何影响精神表现的？也就是说，具有某些大脑皮层特征的个体是否在某些心理任务中表现得更好，他们的表现是否会随着大脑皮层的成熟和年龄的增长而改变？在这里，非侵入性成像方法对于跟踪大脑皮层的特性至关重要，以将神经科学(基因、细胞、电路)的发现扩展到心理学(认知、感知和行为)的发现。 因此，我的实验室和拟议的研究计划的一个主要重点是开发全面的磁共振成像(MRI)，用于详细测量活体皮质的特性。核磁共振成像是描述负责在皮质内传递信息的轴突和树突的理想方法，我们将使用它来测量健康大脑在整个健康的人类生命过程中皮质的变化，以及皮质神经生物学是否受到个人性别的影响。我们还将研究大脑皮质的MRI可见特征如何与大脑在认知和知觉任务中的表现联系起来。 我的研究计划将开发新的核磁共振成像和图像分析技术，使大脑研究人员能够精确跟踪皮质神经生物学的变化。我们形成的健康皮质如何成熟和衰老的图景将作为识别疾病中皮质破坏的关键参考。此外，确定大脑皮质的结构和组成支持哪些思维和行为特征，对于评估神经生物学变化对人类行为的影响，以及设计能够促进精神表现改善的干预措施至关重要。 我们是一个在MRI开发方面经验丰富的团队，总部设在心理学、神经科学和行为学部门。这项研究提案所涵盖的材料的广度将是培养从本科生到博士后水平的高素质人才(HQP)的理想选择，这些人才包括MR物理学、计算神经成像、认知和行为心理学以及统计分析。我们创建的研究和我们培训的人员将继续加强加拿大在神经成像领域的强大地位，并将其应用于人脑工作的基础科学研究。

The human cerebral cortex plays a key role in all mental activities including movement, memory, perception, cognition, and mood. Its structure and composition change over the life course and show considerable variation among individuals. Brain researchers therefore ask: How does the neurobiology of the cortex affect mental performance? That is, do individuals with certain cortical features perform better on certain mental tasks, and does their performance change as the cortex matures and ages? Here, noninvasive imaging methods are essential for tracking the properties of the cortex to extend findings from neuroscience (genes, cells, circuits) to findings from psychology (cognition, perception and behaviour). A major focus of my laboratory and of the proposed research program therefore is to develop comprehensive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for detailed measurements of the properties of the living cortex. MRI is ideal for characterizing the axons and dendrites responsible for transmitting information within the cortex and we will use it to measure how the cortex changes in healthy brains over the entire healthy human life course and whether cortical neurobiology is affected by an individual's sex. We will also study how MRI-visible features of the cortex link to the brain's performance on cognitive and perceptual tasks. My research program will develop novel MRI and image analysis techniques that will allow brain researchers to track changes in the cortical neurobiology in exquisite detail. The picture we form of how the healthy cortex matures and ages will serve as a crucial reference for identifying disruptions in the cortex in disease. Further, identifying which features of thinking and behaviour are supported by the structure and composition of the cortex is crucial to evaluating the impact of changing neurobiology on human behaviour, and devising interventions that will promote improvements in mental performance. We are an experienced group in MRI development based in a Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour department. The breadth of material covered in this research proposal will be ideal to train a continuum of highly qualified personnel (HQP) from the undergraduate through the postdoctoral level in MR physics, computational neuroimaging, cognitive and behavioural psychology, and statistical analysis. The research we create, and the people we train, will continue to enhance Canada's already strong position in the field of neuroimaging and its application to basic science research into the workings of the human brain.