FUNCTIONAL MRI TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT

该项目将开发新的方法来成像可卡因引起的 使用功能性磁共振在人类和大鼠中激活 成像（fMRI）技术。 这些技术有可能 非侵入性地分析直接血管和欣快反应， 以及药物依赖行为，如渴望，以前所未有的 时间和空间分辨率 然而，虽然功能性磁共振成像已经非常 初步应用初级感觉测图获得成功 皮质，皮质下结构的研究成果较少。 由于这些皮层下结构似乎是理解 药物依赖行为的生理学，我们提出的工作旨在扩大 功能磁共振成像序列，地图生成和分析技术， 优化可卡因诱导激活的检测。 这些方法 解决使功能磁共振成像在功能成像中独一无二的具体问题， 神经影像学方式：序列依赖功能的混合 加权可用，高空间和时间分辨率可行， 以及功能MR数据的独特统计特性。 通过结合新的成像和分析技术，我们寻求 建立功能性磁共振成像作为研究的严格方法 药物反应和药物依赖行为。

This project will develop new methods for imaging cocaine-induced activation in humans and in rats using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques. These techniques have the potential for analyzing non-invasively both direct vascular and euphoric responses, as well as drug-dependent behavior such as craving, with unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution. However, while fMRI has been very successful in its preliminary applications of mapping primary sensory cortices, studies of sub-cortical structures have been less fruitful. Since these sub-cortical structures appear key to understanding the physiology of drug-dependent behavior, our proposed work seeks to extend fMRI imaging sequences, map generation, and analysis techniques to optimize the detection of cocaine-induced activation. These methods address the specific issues that make fMRI unique among functional neuroimaging modalities: the mixture of sequence-dependent functional weightings available, the high spatial and temporal resolution feasible, and the unique statistical characteristics of the functional MR data. By combining novel imaging and analysis techniques, we thus seek to establish functional MR imaging as a rigorous methodology for the study of drug response and drug-dependent behavior in humans.