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Basics of Brain Function - Day 1
Peter Jezzard, Organizer
Saturday, 15 May 2004, 08:30 - 17:50


Last updated 05 May 2009
 
Course Description
This two-day course will provide an introduction to all aspects of MRI of human brain function.  The course starts with an overview of regional functional specialization of the brain, and the way in which cortical areas intercommunicate.  This is followed by a discussion of the metabolic and hemodynamic response of the brain to activation.  The pulse sequences used to map brain function are then introduced, along with an overview of the artifacts that should be anticipated.  The second day of the course details the principles of fMRI paradigm design, and introduces the statistical methods used to analyze the data.  After describing emerging (non-BOLD) method for assessing brain function/communication, the course concludes with a series of talks providing examples of fMRI applications
 
Audience Description:
This course is aimed at neurologists, psychiatrists, radiologists, neuroscientists, MR physicists, graduate students, post-docs and non-specialist scientists/clinicians with an interest in fMRI.  No prior experience is needed.
 
Educational Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to
Identify the principle areas of the brain used in sensory perception, motor activity, language, and cognition;
Describe the way in which these cortical areas inter-communicate, both at the electrical and chemical level;
Describe the associated hemodynamic responses of the brain that accompany electrical and metabolic activity;
Define and compare the various MRI pulse sequences that can be used to map human brain function;
Identify the sources of artifacts that are inherent in many fMRI procedures and describe methods to minimize these artifacts;
Design a simple fMRI paradigm, and describe the principles used in data analysis;
Explain the principles of perfusion-based fMRI and the methods used to construct maps of white matter tracts;
Identify the areas of application of fMRI in neurology, psychiatry and basic neuroscience
 

Program
The final five minutes of each presentation will be reserved for questions.

08:30 Introduction
SESSION I: Functional Anatomy and Connectivity
08:40 Introduction to Neuronal Anatomy and Electrical Activity Mark S. Cohen
09:15 Grey Matter Functional Specialization Arno Villringer
09:50 Fiber Tracts and Structural Connectivity in the Human Brain Hubertus Axer
10:25 Break
SESSION II: Neurochemistry
10:45 Neurochemistry and Neurotransmitter Systems Paul Grasby
11:20 Neuronal Metabolism Stephen R. Williams
11:55 Hemodynamic Responses to Neuronal Activity Richard B. Buxton
12:30 Break
SESSION III: The BOLD Signal
14:00 Sources of BOLD Signal and Field Strength Issues Richard P. Kennan
14:35 Temporal BOLD Characteristics and Non-Linearity Douglas C. Noll
15:10 Spatial Resolution Limits Ravi S. Menon
15:45 Break
SESSION IV: fMRI Pulse Sequences and Artifacts
16:05 BOLD fMRI Sequences Peter Jezzard
16:40 Susceptibility Artifacts Lawrence L. Wald
17:15 Minimization and Correction of Physiological Noise Components in fMRI Gunnar Kueger
17:50 Adjournment