Investigation of Resting State Functional Connectivity in the Human Spinal Cord

描述(申请人提供)：这项建议旨在开发和评估新的磁共振成像方法，以非侵入性地检测和表征人类颈髓的功能网络。这些方法可用于临床确定脊髓损伤的程度和监测术后功能恢复的进展，也有助于早期发现几种中枢神经系统病变。我们建议开发和评估功能磁共振成像(Fmri)来检测和量化基线BOLD(血氧水平依赖)信号的低频波动，作为人类脊髓静息状态功能连通性的指标。 电源线。到目前为止，已有2900多项研究使用类似的fMRI方法来研究大脑的功能连接，并提供了令人信服的证据，表明低频BOLD信号波动是正常、健康的大脑固有的，代表了皮质功能的重要组织水平。然而，到目前为止，还没有相应的研究确凿地证明脊髓灰质中存在类似的低频相关性。尽管使用MRI以外的方法研究脊髓的功能连通性和可塑性在过去20年里一直是密集研究的主题，但正常人群和病理人群中脊髓的准确功能仍然知之甚少。功能磁共振成像研究的匮乏主要反映了在脊髓进行功能磁共振成像的技术困难，未能开发出适当的方法和线圈，以及与大脑相比，脊髓成像需要更高的空间分辨率和更高的灵敏度。我们建议通过使用超高场(7特斯拉)磁共振扫描仪、新的功能磁共振图像采集和数据校正协议以及针对脊柱成像优化的专用16通道射频线圈阵列来解决这些技术挑战和限制。7T fMRI的高信噪比(SNR)和更大的大胆对比度已经显示出在高空间分辨率下检测激活和测量连接方面的显著优势，而不是对大脑进行较低的现场研究。更高的SNR允许使用更小的体素，并行线圈阵列允许新颖的更快的图像采集。因此，超高场磁共振成像是独一无二的，可以提供对脊柱解剖和功能连接的洞察，而这些在低场强的实践中是不可能的。 我们假设，拟议的技术进步将用于检测和表征颈髓的功能连通性以及损伤、恢复和修复过程中发生的变化，这些测量将补充来自其他功能测量的信息，包括基于任务的功能磁共振研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal aims to develop and evaluate novel magnetic resonance imaging methods to non-invasively detect and characterize functional networks in the human cervical spinal cord. These methods may be used clinically to establish the extent of injuries to the spinal cord and to monitor the progression of functional recovery afterwards, and may also facilitate earlier detection of several central nervous system pathologies. We propose to develop and evaluate functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to detect and quantify low-frequency fluctuations in baseline BOLD (blood oxygenation level dependent) signals as indicators of resting state functional connectivity in the human spinal cord. To date, over 2900 studies have used similar fMRI approaches to study functional connectivity in the brain, and have provided compelling evidence that low- frequency BOLD signal fluctuations are inherent in normal, healthy brains and represent an important level of organization of cortical function. However, to date no corresponding studies have conclusively demonstrated similar low-frequency correlations within spinal gray matter. The precise functioning of the spinal cord in both normal and pathological populations remains poorly understood even though studies of functional connectivity and plasticity in the spinal cord using methods other than MRI have been topics of intense research for the past two decades. The scarcity of fMRI studies mainly reflects the technical difficulties of performing fMRI in the spina cord, the failure to develop appropriate methods and coils, and the need for higher spatial resolution and greater sensitivity for imaging the spinal cord compared to the brain. We propose to address these technical challenges and limitations by using an ultra-high field (7 Tesla) MR scanner, novel fMRI image acquisition and data correction protocols, and a dedicated 16-channel radiofrequency coil array optimized for spinal imaging. The higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and greater BOLD contrast from 7T fMRI has already shown significant advantages over lower field studies of the brain for detecting activation and measuring connectivity at high spatia resolution. The higher SNR permits the use of smaller voxels, and parallel coil arrays allow novel faster image acquisitions. Thus, ultra-high field MRI is uniquely poised to provide insights into spinal anatomy and functional connectivity that are not possible in practice at lower fields. We hypothesize that the proposed technical advances will be used to detect and characterize functional connectivity in the cervical spinal cord and changes that occur with injury, recovery and repair, and that these measures will complement information from other functional measures including task-based fMRI studies.