Introduction: We described a parcellation system of the human cerebellar cortex, which is based upon neuroanatomy and conserves the topographic uniqueness of the individual brain [1]. In the present study we created a volume atlas and a surface atlas of the human cerebellar cortex. This was based on nine cerebellar datasets, which have been previously segmented and parcellated. Methods: The cerebellar cortex of nine adult human subjects was segmented and parcellated into 32 parcellation units (PUs) [1, 2] using T1-weighted anatomic MR images. Registration of volumes and surfaces for the nine datasets was performed using the FreeSurfer system [3]. A volumetric and a surface atlas were created based on these nine cerebellar datasets. This resulted in registered grey scale maps and labeled volumetric and surface maps. For every voxel in the average volume maps we generated a probabilistic distribution of the voxel labels. Similarly for every vertex in the average surface maps we obtained a probability of the ...

Schizophrenia is an etiologically and clinically heterogeneous psychiatric disorder, characterized by psychotic symptoms, motivational disturbances, and cognitive disorganization. Pioneers of neuropathology such as Meynert and Wernicke proposed in the late 19th century that schizophrenia is

Prolonged administration of opioids and benzodiazepines used for pain and sedation management in the youngest of patients is associated with a high incidence of drug tolerance and dependence. The clinical impact of such treatment on the full-term infant...

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive disease that affects 1 in every 6,000-10,000 individuals at birth, making it the leading genetic cause of infant mortality. There are effective treatments for SMA, but not all patients respond to t...

Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis of magnetic resonance images (MRI) has revealed structural changes in the brain gray matter following visuomotor task (Draganski et al., 2004). Recently, we found such gray matter changes occur even with relatively...

Previous studies have indicated that amputation or deafferentation of a limb induces functional changes in sensory (S1) and motor (M1) cortices, related to phantom limb pain. However, the extent of cortical reorganization after lower limb amputation in patients with nonpainful phantom phenomena remains uncertain. In this study, we combined functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate the existence and extent of cortical and callosal plasticity in these subjects. Nine “painless” patients with lower limb amputation and nine control subjects (sex- and age-matched) underwent a 3-T MRI protocol, including fMRI with somatosensory stimulation. In amputees, we observed an expansion of activation maps of the stump in S1 and M1 of the deafferented hemisphere, spreading to neighboring regions that represent the trunk and upper limbs. We also observed that tactile stimulation of the intact foot in amputees induced a greater activation of ipsilateral S1, when compared with cont...

Computer algorithms exist to remove non-brain tissue from structural MRIs. Each algorithm possesses strengths and weaknesses dependent on scanner, protocol, and subjects, and produces different results for the same data. Simultaneous use of multiple algorithms with a combination step builds on the strengths of the individual extractors yielding a meta-algorithm that produces more accurate and robust results. The meta-algorithm incorporates information from four different extractors, BET (Smith, 2002), BSE (Shattuck et al., 2001), 3dIntracranial (in AFNI; Ward, 1999), and Watershed (in FreeSurfer; Segonne et al., 2003), and a registration procedure, FLIRT (Jenkinson et al., 2002). A trainer program analyzes results from the four extractors aligned to an atlas space against manually traced gold-standards of brain. For each region in the atlas space it selects a four input boolean function that produces the best results across the gold-standards. It outputs a combination-key that stores the proper combination...

The apoliprotein E (ApoE) e4 allele has been labeled a risk factor for late onset Alzheimer’s disease and has been associated with a greater rate of brain atrophy in healthy older adults (E.M. Reiman, A. Uecker, R.J. Caselli, S. Lewis, D. Bandy, M.J. de Leon, S. De Santi, A. Convit, D. Osborne, A. Weaver, S.N. Thibodeau, Ann Neurol., 44, 288-291) as well as abnormally low rates of glucose metabolism in younger adults bearing one e4 allele (E.M. Reiman, K. Chen, G.E. Alexander, R.J. Caselli, D. Bandy, D. Osborne, A.M. Saunders, J. Hardy, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 101, 284-289). To date, no studies have addressed the effects of ApoE on brain development in a pediatric population. The longitudinal nature of our study allows us to track the correlation of ApoE genotype with brain volumes at different ages, possibly elucidating the effects of this gene over time. 292 healthy subjects (age range 6 to 22 years) were recruited for participation in an ongoing longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study at the...

Most human navigation studies in MRI rely on virtual navigation. However, the necessary supine position in MRI makes it fundamentally different from daily ecological navigation. Nonetheless, until now, no study has assessed whether differences in physical body orientation (BO) affect participants’ experienced BO during virtual navigation. Here, combining an immersive virtual reality navigation task with subjective BO measures and implicit behavioral measures, we demonstrate that physical BO (either standing or supine) modulates experienced BO. Also, we show that standing upright BO is preferred during spatial navigation: participants were more likely to experience a standing BO and were better at spatial navigation when standing upright. Importantly, we report that showing a supine virtual agent reduces the conflict between the preferred BO and physical supine BO. Our study provides critical, but missing, information regarding experienced BO during virtual navigation, which should be considered cautiously ...

An artificial thrombosis generation is well-established method of preclinical animal models to study mechanisms of thrombosis-caused diseases, for instance, a cerebral stroke and a cardiac infarction. In addition, it is used to investigate diagnostic an...