Mapping the Brain at Multiple Scales: Bridging the Gap Between Microscopic, Mesoscopic & Macroscopic Studies of Brain Structure & Connectivity
Member-Initiated Symposium

ORGANIZERS: Susie Huang, Thomas Witzel, Peter Basser

Tuesday, 14 May 2019

Session Number: MIS-09

Overview
Less is known about the structure-function relationship in the human brain than in any other organ system. The challenge of studying brain structure is that brain networks span multiple spatial scales, from individual neurons all the way to whole-brain systems. MRI offers the spatial range/resolution to image a whole brain with ~1 mm3 voxels, while electron microscopy renders individual neurons with voxels of less than 100 nm3 – a range spanning 16 orders of magnitude! The paramount importance of studying structural and connectional motifs across scales has never been more apparent, as evidenced by several large-scale
initiatives formed in recent years, including the NIH BRAIN initiative, European Human Brain Project, and Japanese Brain/MINDS project. An important component of these initiatives is the mandate to image across scales: from the microscopic scale needed to probe cellular heterogeneity, to the mesoscopic scale for defining cyto- and myelo-architectonic boundaries, to estimates of macroscopic connectivity.

This symposium will address progress and challenges of imaging brain structure and connectivity spanning the microscopic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic scales, with an emphasis on the role of MRI in this context. 

Target Audience
Neuroscientists, anatomists, physicists, and clinicians interested in understanding the structural basis of brain function and connectivity.

Educational Objectives
As a result of attending this course, participants should be able to:
- Recognize state-of-the-art multimodal approaches for mapping brain structure and connectivity at multiple scales;
- Explain the advantages and limitations of different imaging methods for probing brain structure at the microscopic, mesoscopic and macroscopic scales; and
- Discuss current progress and challenges in integrating multiscale structural data in the brain.