SLrucLural lmaglng: M8l (and C1)

luncuonal braln lmaglng: L1 and fM8l

8ecap on cognluve subLracuon
8locked vs. evenL-relaLed deslgns
arameLrlc deslgns
8aslc sLeps ln fM8l analyses
lnLerpreung fM8l daLa
CLher useful M8l daLa
luncuonal connecuvlLy analyses durlng Lask performance (dlerenL from resL)
v8M (voxel-based morphomeLry)
u1l (dlusslon Lensor lmaglng, LracLography)
BRAIN IMAGING
ulerenL braln ussues have dlerenual physlcal properues, whlch are employed Lo
consLrucL sLauc maps of Lhe physlcal sLrucLure of Lhe braln (M8, C1)
ulerenL braln areas absorb !"#$"%&' ln relauon Lo ussue denslLy (C1)
8one absorbs Lhe mosL - whlLe
Cerebrosplnal uld absorbs Lhe leasL - black
8raln mauer (whlLe, grey) lnLermedlaLe - grey
Cnly used ln cllnlcal semngs
8adlauon
uoes noL dlsungulsh grey from whlLe mauer
CannoL be adapLed Lo evenL-relaLed deslgns
COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY -CT
Manseld & LauLerbur recelved Lhe nobel rlze for lLs lnvenuon
As lL does noL use any klnd of radlauon, lL ls compleLely safe
lL provldes much beuer spaual resoluuon (1.3, 3 1, even 7 1, Lhe LarLh magneuc
eld equals 0.0001 1)
Allows grey-whlLe mauer segmenLauon and dlscrlmlnauon
lL can be adapLed Lo funcuonal experlmenLs (fM8l)
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
lL measures Lhe amounL of waLer (hydrogen) ln dlerenL body
ussues
SLeps:
8ody ls locaLed ln a sLrong magneuc eld (1.3, 3, 7 1eslas) -
Lssenual securlLy measures
1he hydrogen proLons ln body ussues, usually orlenLed aL random,
allgn wlLh Lhe sLrong magneuc eld
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
- Brief radio-frequency pulses are then applied to knock the orientation of
protons 90 degrees from their original orientation
- As the protons spin to this new state they produce a detectable change
in the magnetic field, which is the basis of the MR signal being measured
- Once protons have relaxed, a new radiofrequency pulse is applied to
excite a different slice in the brain
- With EPI (echo planar imaging), a whole brain can be acquired in two
seconds with 3 mm slices in 3T machines
!"#$ &'()
uependlng on Lhe raLe aL whlch Lhe proLons reLurn back Lo Lhelr lnlual sLaLes, dlerenL braln lmages can be acqulred wlLh an M8
11-welghLed lmage (grey mauer ls grey, whlLe mauer ls whlLer)
12 welghLed-lmage (opposlLe)
12* fM8l (measures deoxyhemoglobln) )*+,-./+01 lmaglng
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
Measures local blood ow (rC8l)
A radloacuve Lracer (oxygen-13,
uorlne-18.) ls ln[ecLed lnLo Lhe
blood sLream
1he greaLer Lhe bloodow ln a reglon of
Lhe braln, Lhe larger Lhe slgnal measured
1racer Lakes up Lo 30 seconds Lo
peak
Worse Lemporal and spaual
resoluuon Lhan M8l
FUNCTIONAL BRAIN IMAGING - PET
= reas Activadas
Repetir vs. Generar en funcin de la Prctica
Datos de PET: Raichle et al. (1994)
uoes noL use radloacuvlLy, buL dlrecLly measures Lhe concenLrauon of deoxyhemoglobln ln
Lhe blood
8CLu response (8lood Cxygen Level uependenL conLrasL)
1he change ln 8CLu response over ume ls called Lhe 234&#5'"4$6 !378&'73 9:'6%&' (P8l),
and varles across paruclpanLs and braln reglons
Sumulus-evoked changes are small (1-3)
1he 6"'&'$6"; P8l peaks ln 3-6 seconds and so Lhls ls Lhe Lemporal resoluuon of fM8l (Lakes
abouL 20-23 secs Lo reLurn Lo Lhe lnlual sLaLe)
lnlual dlp
Cvercompensauon
undershooL
FUNCTIONAL BRAIN IMAGING - fMRI
1he braln has a consLanL supply of blood and oxygen, lf lL dldn'L, lL would dle
1hls means we cannoL llLerally suck someone ln a scanner and read Lhelr LhoughLs
(because Lhe whole braln would look acuve)
ln order Lo lnfer funcuonal speclallzauon, one needs Lo compare 8LLA1lvL
dlerences ln braln acuvlLy beLween Lwo or more condluons
1hls lnvolves selecung a basellne or comparlson condluon
A reglon ls "acuve" lf lL shows a greaLer response ln one condluon relauve Lo
anoLher
lf Lhe experlmenLer chooses lnapproprlaLe condluons Lhe reglons of acuvlLy wlll be
meanlngless - funcuonal lmaglng lsn'L foolproof - Su818AC1lCn
FUNCTIONAL BRAIN IMAGING - fMRI
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! ure lnseruon
! lnLeracuons
! Cholce of basellne
condluon
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fMRI - BLOCK DESIGNS
! Stimulus belonging to the same condition are
grouped in time
! These blocks have relatively long duration (15-20
secs), and are presented in an ordered manner,
mixed with rest blocks
! Only option with PET
! High statistical power
! Very useful localizers (e.g. FFA)
! Many cognitive paradigms are not
well suited to this type of designs
(e.g. Stroop task; Memory retrieval)
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fMRI EVENT-RELATED designs
! Different trial types are intermixed
! Given the long duration of the HRF, the curves may overlap and have to be disentangled
afterwards
! Slow or fast pace
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fMRI EVENT-RELATED designs
! Designs are more flexible and similar to typical paradigms in cognitive
psychology
! Allows selecting trials afterwards (e.g. memory performance)
! Lower statistical power
! Overlap in neural responses across conditions (fast-pace)
! needs careful control of trial dependencies
! Baseline can be estimated or not depending on the pace of scanning
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fMRI PARAMETRIC designs
! Usually of the event-related type
! Parametric variation in the effect of interest in a continuous manner
! Associations between brain activity and increases in the variable of
interest, rather than categorical differences as in the subtraction approach
! For example, different loads in working memory, or phonological processing
! A separate baseline is not needed
! (Partially) avoids problems of pure insertion
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BASIC STEPS IN fMRI ANALYSES
! Since data are acquired until we obtain images with brain (statistical)
activations, many pre-processing steps have to be performed:
! Correction for head movement (more than 3 mm usually not acceptable)
! Co-registration of structural and functional images
! Normalization to a brain template (Talairach, MNI) to reduce individual variability
(so x,y,z coordinates mean the same in all participants)
! Gaussian smoothing voxel data
! Statistics (General Lineal Model; GLM, this is the main approach although there
are many others)
! 1
st
level (individual participants)
! 2
nd
level (group of participants)
! Correcuons for muluple comparlsons
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INTERPRETING fMRI DATA
! WhaL does lL mean LhaL a cerLaln braln reglon appears acuvaLed" ln an fM8l
experlmenL?
! LxclLauon vs. lnhlbluon
! fM8l ls mosL sensluve Lo lnpuL Lo an area, Lhus acuvauons" may also reecL LhaL
Lhe reglon ls belng lnhlblLed
! Acuvauon vs. deacuvauon
! Always ln relauon Lo Lhe conLrol/conLrasL condluon
! necesslLy vs. sumclency
! fM8l cannoL esLabllsh causallLy - reglons may be sumclenL buL noL necessary for
performlng Lhe Lask
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localization vs. functional connectivity
! MosL experlmenLs sLudy Lhe braln reglons LhaL are lnvolved ln Lhe cognluve process/es
relevanL for Lhelr sLudy
! 1here are also oLher powerful approaches LhaL allow Lo lnvesugaLe how dlerenL areas
connecL Lo each oLher or geL funcuonally coupled ln dlerenL cognluve operauons
! sychophyslologlcal lnLeracuons (l)
! uynamlc Causal Modelllng (uCM)
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PPI
&#*
semanuc
vlsual
phonologlcal
*#+, &-"
nC ulllL8Ln1lAL AC1lvA1lCnS AMCnC LAnCuACL 1ASkS
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PPI
SLLu ln
l
! 1ask preparauon operaLes Lhrough lnLeracuons of a reglon ln
Lhe fronLal pole (8A 10) wlLh Lask-relevanL braln areas (8A 6,
phonology, 8A 44, semanucs) 8LlC8L Lask sumull are
presenLed
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VBM (VOXEL-BASED MORPHOMETRY)
! Analysis technique that looks for differences in gray matter volume in different
brain regions
! Employs T1 structural images
! Several individual differences related to differences in gray matter
! Learning
! Age
! Psychiatric conditions
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VBM (VOXEL-BASED MORPHOMETRY)
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HIPOCAMPO Y TAXISTAS
" Navigation skills are sustained by the hippocampus:
! Lesions in this structure deteriorate navigation performance
! Contains place cells
! Its size varies across species with different demands on navigation skills
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HIPOCAMPO Y TAXISTAS
! VBM analyses in London taxi drivers shows that the size of the posterior
hippocampus is increased with practice and correlates with navitation skills
(also compared to doctors who also receive lots of training- and bus
drivers)
! The size of the anterior hippocampus is decreased in taxi drivers
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DTI (DIFFUSION TENSOR IMAGING)
! Analysis technique that looks for the integrity of white matter tracts connecting
different brain regions
! Employs fMRI (diffusion-weighted echo-planar imaging; EPI) sequences to
measure water diffusion
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DTI (DIFFUSION TENSOR IMAGING)
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! lA reecLs:
! (48;</68: 3= 0>3405 ?;?@/04;7
! A:;564
! aLh geomeLry
! aLh complexlLy
+9;;B 04B ;C16;41: 64 64=3/?0234 8/047=;/
! lndlvldual dlerences ln skllls, personallLy
! MenLal paLhologles
! 8raln maLurauon
! Learnlng ..
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DTI READING LATE LEARNING
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BRAIN IMAGING RECAP
! The different methods and analyses allow several types of data to study
cognitive functioning in the living human brain
! Good spatial resolution but poor temporal one
! All techniques involve several data transformation and theoretical assumptions
that must be kept in mind when interpreting results
! As many other methods in neuroscience, brain imaging does not allow causal
inferences