The propensity for transient elevation of blood pressure to suppress diaphragmatic muscle activity, and, preferentially, upper airway muscle tone, suggests a mechanism by which an airway already compromised by anatomical features might be placed at risk for complete obstruction in OSA patients, namely exaggerated somatomotor suppression by pressor challenges. We examined signal changes in neural sites recruited during a cold pressor challenge to the forehead. A series of 20 image slices (25 repetitions, Echo Planar technique) through the brain of 7 male OSA patients (43-59 yrs) and 6 control subjects (29-59 yrs) was collected during 1 min baseline and 1.5 min application of a bag of cold (3oC) deuterium oxide to the forehead in a GE 1.5T Signa scanner. Images collected during baseline and challenge conditions were subjected to a fixed-effects analysis using the SPM imaging package. Both control and OSA subjects showed significantly increased signals in multiple areas, including the caudate nucleus, hippoca...

Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a powerful tool to study the brain’s activity and functional connectivity. fMRI signal is well established to originate from blood flow changes in response to neuronal a...

Introduction: Local increases in brain blood flow accompany neural activity and form the basis of the BOLD signal detected in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Analysis of how vasodilation initiates in in-vivo brain can improve our interpret...

Fine motor control is essential for activities of daily living, but is often the first casualty of neurological injury. Restoration of fine motor control depends on our ability to characterize it. Recent research in functional magnetic resonance imaging...

Ultra-high-field (UHF) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has shown tremendous potential for advancing non-invasive neuroscience in the human brain. To enable analysis of fMRI data at UHF, we need to measure the hemodynamic response function (...

Amygdala is one of the important brain regions regarding with emotional face process and it contains multiple nuclei. Although functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been mostly used to investigate the function of amygdala in the human brain, ...

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies show that functional connectivity in resting state networks (RSNs) develop across the lifespan. RSNs are seen as early as in utero (Schöpf et al., 2012) and develop through adolescence (Supekar et al....

Brain atrophy is a consistent finding in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The present study investigated if the amount of glucocorticoids (GC), administered as treatment for acute episodes of MS, can serve as an additional explanatory factor for this finding. From a total of 379 patients with relapsing-remitting MS, baseline and two year follow up Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans of 27 cases were selected. During the trial period, 14 patients had received high doses of glucocorticoid treatment, while 13 patients were without treatment. Subjects in both groups were matched for gender, age, and evaluation on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) at study begin (0-4,5). T1 weighted images with 3mm axial contiguous slices were acquired. All MR images were transformed into standard stereotaxic space. Volumetric analyses were performed for white matter, gray matter, hippocampus, and ventricles using both manual and automatic segmentation procedures. The GC treatment group showed significant atr...

Background: Spatial neglect, which prevents stroke patients from acquiring ability of independent daily living, has been reported to be related with change in the network interactions in the brain. However, it is still unknown whether functional connect...

MDMA, or Ecstasy, is a widely used recreational drug with potent effects on cognition and behavior and possible long term effects on brain function, chemistry, and anatomy. Recent MRI studies have looked at CBF changes, NAA levels, and tissue diffusion changes in human MDMA users. In this experiment, conscious marmosets were acclimated to the MRI and imaged in a restrainer (Insight Neuroimaging Sys.) in a 4.7T MRI (Bruker). The initial period of drug uptake was imaged while evoked sensory activity was assessed prior to, and following oral MDMA (1mg/kg). Globally, BOLD signal decreased after drug administration. Activations were seen after 20-40 minutes in dopaminergic/serotonergic regions of the brain, chiefly: caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, and nucleus accumbens. Preliminary data suggest that visual activations were slightly lower after MDMA while somatosensory activations remained consistent (see figure). No major changes in respiratory physiology were noted during the experiment. Initial findings su...