Acquisition of Instrumentation for Cognitive Neuroscience Brain Imaging

Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN

Investigators

Abstract

Blake 0079579 The past decade has witnessed a revolution in methods available for imaging correlates of brain activity and, thereby, for studying possible links between neural events and mental activity in humans. Most prominent among those methods is functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which is based on detecting and localizing variations in hemodynamic response associated with fluctuations in neural activity during performance of specific cognitive or behavioral tasks (Ogawa et al, 1998). Sophisticated display technologies paired with fMRI can delineate individual "maps" of a sensory surface onto different brain areas (Wandell, 1999), and advances in single event fMRI even make it possible to infer relative timing among the onsets of activity in different brain areas (Menon & Kim, 1999). Building on its recognized strengths in cognitive neuroscience, Vanderbilt University has committed itself to becoming one of the premier research institutions in the world for the study of cognitive function using fMRI, and that commitment is evidenced in several major initiatives: o Establishment of an interdisciplinary Center for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, with major focus on brain imaging. o Purchase of a 3.0 Tesla GE imager devoted exclusively to research, to be housed in specially constructed space optimized for fMRI work. o Expanded research training in cognitive neuroscience, including brain imaging, available through new degree programs at the graduate and undergraduate levels. o Establishment of a university-wide Neuroscience Institute emphasizing interdisciplinary research and education linking bench to bedside, with brain imaging figuring prominently in that mission o Creation of an interdisciplinary group of investigators whose research involves the study of a wide range of basic and clinical problems using MRI. Among those investigators is a group of individuals -- the applicants of this grant -- who use fMRI to study a diverse set of problems falling within the domain of cognitive neuroscience. This group has been created through key hires of new faculty explicitly trained in fMRI research as well as through investments in the career development of faculty already at Vanderbilt. Our work has already led to new insights into brain mechanisms involved in perceiving, attending, thinking and remembering. For our group to realize its potential, we now seek to expand the Center's fMRI facilities to include cutting edge instrumentation that meets needs common to our group. Specifically, this proposal requests funds to purchase: 1. Hardware for generation and presentation of high-fidelity visual and auditory stimuli to subjects engaged in cognitive tasks during fMRI scanning sessions. 2. Instruments for monitoring eye movements and respiration during scan sessions, so that we can correct fMRI signals for artifacts and so we can use eye movements and respiration rate as indirect indices of cognitive function and emotional arousal. 3. Computer workstation and software for analysis and interpretation of fMRI data, with particular emphasis on computational techniques for three-dimensional, volumetric rendering of fMRI data. As detailed in the body of this proposal, faculty associated with this application are studying a variety of problems centered around questions within the domains of: o visual perception o object recognition o categorization o decision making o affective processes o attention o spatial memory o vocal communication All investigators listed on this grant are also involved in research training of graduate and undergraduate students in one of Vanderbilt's several programs specializing in cognitive science, clinical science and/or neuroscience. The facilities provided by this grant will be utilized by some of those trainees.