This proposal seeks support to acquire a state-of-the-art Siemens Trio 3 Tesla MRI scanner system for the study of the brain systems underpinning various aspects of human cognitive and social functioning, as well as their typical and atypical development. Clinical and basic scientists from multiple disciplines and institutions stand poised to use the proposed scanner system to make field-leading contributions in the context of furthering their National Institutes of Health-funded, translational research programs. These research programs address critical questions in a number of areas including the cognitive neuroscience of autism, developmental cognitive neuroscience, aspects of high-level cognition, language processing and language pathology, MRI methods development, social neuroscience, and computational modeling of cognition and brain function. Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh have been at the forefront of advances in MRI-based techniques particularly as they are applied to understanding the human mind and its development. While much progress has been made, fundamental questions about typical and atypical brain function remain to be addressed with the help of the requested instrument.
The work to be supported by the proposed MRI system focuses on the neural systems supporting cognitive and social functions, which are at the center of our emotional and intellectual well-being. In atypical neural systems, such as in autism, dyslexia, and stroke, the planned research will provide fundamental new insights that will help to improve human health and well-being. Many of the research programs that this scanner would support are in close concordance with current areas of emphasis for NIH, including autism, social neuroscience, and neurodevelopment.
