Koji Sakai

This session focuses on and tries to appraise diffusion MRI (dMRI)-derived imaging biomarkers (dMRI-IB) for brain disease. To categorize dMRI-IB: 1) confirm the definition of IB; 2) proceed through dMRI-derived measures and applications; 3) introduce the possible candidate of dMRI-IB; and 4) discuss about barriers that dMRI-IB candidates should overcome. In addition, this session will address following issues: 1) why only limited dMRI measures can be considered for IB? 2) what is the problem for dMRI-IB candidates to become true IB? 3) what can we do for creating new IB?

Vince Calhoun

In this talk I will discuss current progress and challenges in the use of brain imaging for single subject prediction.

Carolyn Mountford

Kathryn Cullen

Major depressive disorder is a serious public health problem, representing a leading cause of worldwide disability, and a major contributor to suicide. While treatments exist to address this problem, they are not always efficacious, highlighting the need for more research to better understand the neural circuitry underlying depression and its treatment. In the past 2 decades, human neuroimaging research has made great strides in providing information about which neural circuits are implicated in depression. In this talk we will review some of the major contributions to this body of knowledge including research using structural neuroimaging, positron emission tomography, and functional magnetic resonance imaging. We will also discuss the smaller but emerging literature using these tools in the context of clinical trials to begin to understand predictors and mechanisms of treatment response in patients with depression. While there have been great strides forward in understanding the neural circuitry underlying depression, much work still remains before this knowledge can be applied in the clinic.  Heterogeneity in the findings across studies may reflect heterogeneity of MDD itself, where individuals that fall under the same diagnosis may have different neural circuitry signatures. Advanced methods that are designed to better understand these differences across subjects could provide the traction needed to develop personalized treatment approaches.

Andre Obenaus

Epilepsy is a broad syndrome that results in societal, economic and medical burdens. Identification and development of MRI based biomarkers  that are predictive of epileptogenesis are urgently needed. We describe the development of one such biomarker for febrile seizures. Once definitive biomarker imaging approaches have been validated, therapeutic interventions can then be investigated.

Toshiaki Taoka

The major role of the imaging used to be ruling out other disorders which present the symptoms of Parkinsonism. However, there are several imaging method which can visualize the abnormality in the Parkinson’s disease including neuromelanin image, diffusion images or susceptibility weighted imaging. This lecture will discuss on the recently developed imaging method for Parkinson’s disease or related disorders.