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

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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.