This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
Studying activity of the human brain non-invasively is a major scientific challenge, yet it is essential for enhancing our understanding of the neural bases of action, emotion, and thought. A major technological advancement in studying the neural basis of behavior has been the development of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a hemodynamic technique based on the tight coupling between neuronal activity and oxygenated blood flow. fMRI is a powerful tool for non-invasively measuring local changes in the brain with high spatial resolution (~1 mm) in the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal. Additionally, structural imaging using MRI can characterize volumetric differences in brain tissue and specify major pathways of neural processing and transmission. These approaches can be combined with other neuroimaging data examining the temporal dynamics of brain activity, to establish a more complete understanding of the human brain and the neural processes underlying human cognition, action, and emotion.
A state-of-the-art 3-Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner will provide access to this powerful technology to the University of Maryland College Park community for studying human brain activity. The MRI scanner will serve as the centerpiece of the Brain Imaging Center at Maryland (BICAM) and will transform the research and educational environment at the University of Maryland. The scanner will provide the foundation for research in cognitive and affective neuroscience, with specific foci on human development, attention and memory, decision making and risk, motor-control, and language and communication. The center will also create opportunities for innovations in signal processing and magnetic resonance physics. The center and its shared instrumentation will foster an intensive learning environment through the integration of research and education within the University of Maryland and through its partnerships in the local community. The MRI scanner will enhance graduate and undergraduate education through directed research projects, courses with a hands-on focus in functional neuroimaging, and accessibility to students from underrepresented groups. The center will also sponsor a summer institute in developmental cognitive neuroscience which will bring experts in the study of brain development and neuroimaging to the University of Maryland.
BICAM is part of the Neuroscience and Cognitive Science (NACS) program at the University of Maryland. This program consists of faculty from traditional behavioral and neuroscience departments such as Psychology, Human Development, Linguistics, Hearing and Speech, and Kinesiology, as well as faculty from Computer Science, Physics, Applied Mathematics, and Electrical and Computer Engineering with expertise in imaging, signal processing, and the physical basis of magnetic resonance technology. Acquisition of the new scanner will lead to broad interdisciplinary collaboration in areas of the basic physical and behavioral sciences with the goal of understanding the neural bases of behavior.
