The Phase II multimodal data acquisition (MDA) core provides: 1) state-of-the-art neuroimaging protocols for stable and reliable imaging necessary for Projects 3-5; 2) training of principal investigators (Pis) and their support staff on general and practical aspects of acquiring neuroimaging data (e.g., physics of imaging, how to avoid and correct for motion artifacts); and 3) new technological development to answer questions currently posed by the COBRE Pis as well as for future Pis. Specifically, the MDA core will support neuroimaging protocols based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRl), magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG). These protocols include high resolution structural MRl (sMRI) to map brain structure, diffusion tensor MRl (DTI) to map fiber connectivity, functional MRl (fMRI) to characterize changes in blood oxygenation as a consequence of neuronal activation, MEG/EEG to directly monitor neuronal activation with high temporal resolution, and MR spectroscopy (MRS) to measure brain metabolic profiles. The emphasis is on multimodal imaging so each Project PI will acquire imaging data from some combination of the above including concurrent EEG-fMRl or MEG-EEG. Training of Pis and support personnel consists primarily of lectures embedded within weekly meetings and a formal monthly seminar series managed by the administrative, clinical assessment, and mentoring (ACAM) core. New MRl protocols will be developed during Phase II that take full advantage of the 32-channel radio-frequency (RF) coil now available at MRN. New developments include: 1) examining white matter integrity (myelin maps and structural connectivity); 2) attaining higher temporal resolution in concurrent EEG-fMRl experiments for studying dynamic changes in functional connectivity; 3) developing optimal methods for removal of physiological noise; and 4) optimizing three-dimensional GABA measurement methods to enable reliable measurements over smaller voxels. This core is led by Dr. Cheryl Aine (UNM Radiology) with 25+ years of experience in MEG/EEG methods, along with MR physicists Drs. Arvind Caprihan (MRN) and Stefan Posse (UNM Neurology) who each have 20+ years of experience with MR-based methods. Drs. Larry Wald (MGH), Maurizio Corbetta (WashU) and Tom Eichele (Univ. Bergen) are consultants on this core.
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