This Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-2 Focused EPSCoR* Collaborations (RII Track-2 FEC) project has The MIND Research Network in New Mexico as the lead and Tulane University, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and the University of Nebraska, Omaha as partners in a collaboration between 3 jurisdictions. The overarching goal is to understand the rapid development of human brain connectivity that occurs during late childhood and early adolescence. Researchers will use multiple imaging modalities over multiple time scales, and develop novel mathematical algorithms for modeling and data analysis. The project will involve five early career faculty and will engage students from middle school through graduate school in outreach and research activities.
The neuroscience research has four integrated components: (1) acquisition of neuroimaging and genetic data across this developmental time period, using magneto-encephalography (MEG), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), diffusion MRI (dMRI) and genotyping; (2) unimodal analysis to advance understanding of time-varying brain connectivity by modeling neural oscillations measured with MEG, computing instantaneous whole brain connectivity networks via MEG and fMRI, and quantifying the evolution of whole brain connectivity patterns over time; (3) data fusion focused on the development and application of algorithms for bringing together multiple imaging and genetics parameters, behavior, and longitudinal components; and, (4) a workforce development and education program that includes outreach to middle, high school and community college students, research experiences for undergraduates, graduate-level interdisciplinary training, and faculty training workshops in neuroimaging and data modeling.
*Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
