This is an application for funds towards the purchase of a 3 Tesla (T) whole body NMR imaging system for use in research applications of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the human brain. It has become clear that the quality of information obtainable from higher field (>1.5T) MRI systems greatly exceeds that available from lower field devices. The recent development of higher field, actively shielded magnets at reasonable costs has greatly increased the practical importance and accessibility of high field NMR imaging. This proposal seeks partial support for installation of an advanced 3.0 T system at Yale University School of Medicine. to be manage by an expert group of NMR scientists and employed in a variety of experimental investigations. The increased signal to noise available at this higher field, and the improved gradient performance now available, will enable new experiments to be performed that currently are not possible with existing equipment. The increased signal to noise will permit anatomic imaging at sub-millimeter resolution, but will also greatly increase the sensitivity to detecting changes in susceptibility contrast, including transient early changes in MRI signal associated with neuronal activation. The higher field is considered essential for accentuating susceptibility contrast effects from alterations in blood oxygenation in the microvasculature that can be used to detect regional brain activation. The application highlights funded research applications for functional brain imaging in the study of working memory and attention, for the depiction of specific areas involved in language and reading, for localization of motor and sensory areas, for various aspects of visual processing, including processing of faces, for studies of impulse control, and the effects of various pharmacological agents. Studies will be performed in normal subjects as well as patients with various neurological or psychiatric conditions including schizophrenia, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, Tourettes Syndrome, autism, epilepsy, and stroke. These applications will be supplemented by studies designed to better understand the origins of contrast in susceptibility contrast and high field imaging, as well as technical developments to improve the detection of neuronal activation and improvements in data analysis and interpretation. This resource will bring together diverse neuroscience specialists, physicists and data analysts to exploit imaging for obtaining new information on the functional architecture of the brain in normal behavior and disease. A high degree of synergy will occur between the various imaging studies, and the resource will be the primary system for advanced NMR applications serving an experienced community of users.
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