Our lab focuses on developingtechniques to image and characterize functional networks in the brain, primarily with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI is an amazing research tool because, depending on how you manipulate the parameters, you can produce images that show exquisite anatomical structure, how much blood is flowing through the brain, how much oxygen is being used, or which direction the nerve fibers run. By looking at changes in these physiological parameters, areas of the brain that
become active during a certain task (such as looking at a picture) can be identified. The scanner that we use is a high-performance machine optimized for imaging mice and rats. Typical hospital MRI machines have a magnetic field of 1.5T and can detect regions that are about one millimeter in diameter; our 9.4 T system can detect regions that are only one tenth of a millimeter in diameter, comparable to the size of a human hair.
The MIND lab uses MR physics to develop imaging sequences that can detect activity throughout the brain, and collaborates with neuroscientists and psychologists to examine changes in these circuits caused by learning and development. We are currently working in collaboration with the Biomedical Imaging Technology Center (BITC) and the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN) on several projects that are highlighted in the research section of this site.
