Kristina Ropella Chair, Biomedical Engineering, Marquette University

“Functional Neuroimaging Using MR: Moving From Basic Research to Clinical Application”

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used extensively for noninvasively imaging and mapping brain function in neuroscience research. Such research is aimed at understanding the locations and mechanisms of brain activity, the flow of information and the origins of neurological disorders. As fMRI is seeing increased use in clinical applications, the accuracy of such brain maps in representing underlying neural organization needs to be established. Potential clinical applications include pre-surgical planning and evaluation of rehabilitative outcomes following injury or pathology. This talk addresses issues that we have explored regarding the translation of fMRI into a clinically useful tool for evaluating visual function. The representation of the visual field in the visual cortex serves as an excellent test bed for examining the accuracy and completeness of fMRI in mapping brain function. Translating our fMRI research into a clinically useful tool involves characterizing the temporal and spatial attributes of fMRI signals that arise in the human visual cortex and how such signals are influenced by stimulus parameters, imaging parameters, physiologic noise and pathologies. This research is part of a greater effort aimed at combining neuroimaging with neurorehabilitation to improve diagnosis and treatment of neurologic disease and disorders. A number of novel technologies have resulted from this larger effort and will be described in this talk as well.

When: Thursday 5/31/12 4:10 PM

Where: 1005 GBSF