In this revised application, the Imaging Core will provide imaging and data management support for the Center projects that integrate human and rodent-model studies to explore the role of fragmented patterns of maternal signals in increasing the vulnerability of developing individuals to mental illness. In the context of the Core, we will assess structural changes in the brains of children and rodents, using volumetry and DTI. We will also perform fMRI, testing the common hypothesis of Projects 1 and 4, pertaining to brain network shifts provoked by fragmented sensory patterns early in life. The Imaging Core has four basic goals: (i) To acquire, transfer, and store imaging data; (ii) To perform single subject image analysis, group analysis using advanced statistical inference, and multivariate modeling; (iii) To develop and execute automatic and high-speed processing pipelines for the imaging data; and (iv) To maintain quality control, data security, and data integrity. Specifically, we will acquire three types of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, including structural, diffusion tensor (DTI), and functional images (fMRI), and will undertake analysis using advanced methods to test the stated hypotheses of Projects 1, 2, 3. and 4. Further, we will manage data transfers and pipelines, creating processing streams that maximize semiautomatic methods for image preprocessing, anatomical parcellation, and statistical inference, and implement parallel computer algorithms to decrease analysis times using cluster and grid computers. Guided by the helpful suggestions raised by Reviewers of the original application, the Revised Core section provides detailed information about Core facilities. Personnel expertise, and individual methodologies.
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