Neuroimaging Core

University Of California, San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The overall objective of the Neuroimaging Core is to provide the HNRC and associated investigators[unreadable] unique, non-invasive methods for: 1) in vivo detection and measurement of HIV-related brain damage, 2)[unreadable] elucidation of pathological mechanisms that give rise to this damage, 3) further investigation of the[unreadable] functional consequences using fMRI, and 4) identification of neural correlates of treatment success and[unreadable] failure. In the current funding period, the Core has (1) supported 21 extramurally funded projects, resulting[unreadable] in, for example, findings discriminating HIV-related from age-related white matter abnormalities, convergent[unreadable] and divergent patterns of brain structural abnormalities in HIV infection and methamphetamine[unreadable] dependence, fMRI evidence of compensatory activation in response to neural dysfunction in HIV, and MR[unreadable] spectroscopy detection of potential central neuronal injury related to antiretroviral treatment; (2) trained 12[unreadable] postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate trainees in neuroimaging research; and (3) provided[unreadable] consultation and assistance to national and international collaborators in two multicenter trials. Our aims in[unreadable] the proposed renewal period are to accomplish the following: a) acquisition of high-resolution structural[unreadable] images and tissue metabolite measures to evaluate late-stage HIV disease; b) application of morphometry[unreadable] techniques, designed specifically for this population, to measure tissue loss and damage; c) support of[unreadable] other HNRC, national, and international neuroimaging investigations with consultation and training; d)[unreadable] contribution of data and expertise for the development of improved automated morphometry tools; and e)[unreadable] education of the HIV research community regarding promising new imaging methods for NeuroAIDS[unreadable] research. Additionally, during the next funding period specific new method developmental studies will be[unreadable] initiated to define the histological characteristics of visible abnormalities on in vivo MRI in individual cases[unreadable] that come to autopsy, employing novel high-resolution histological and imaging methods to understand of[unreadable] the meaning of MRI-visible abnormalities This Core will enhance HNRC transdisciplinary aims through[unreadable] close collaboration with other HNRC Cores, particularly the Neuromedical, Neurobehavioral, and[unreadable] Neurobiology. These broad-ranging functions of the Neuroimaging Core ensure state of the art[unreadable] neuroimaging support for HNRC-associated studies, close integration between the interdisciplinary HNRC[unreadable] investigative team, and, as appropriate, linkage to the larger national and international neuroimaging[unreadable] community.