Meike Vernooij

This lecture will describe typical structural brain changes seen on imaging studies in ageing. There is considerable overlap between patterns of brain pathology in ageing and neurodegeneration. Knowledge on changes in brain ageing is indispensable as a background against which to evaluate neurodegenerative disease. The ageing brain is likely affected by an accumulation of processes, the summation of which will lead to inter-individual differences in brain  ageing, with some persons showing more ‘successful ageing’ than others. There is considerable research being conducted into understanding the biological basis for these differences.

Aviv Mezer

Quantitative MRI (qMRI) techniques provide biophysical parametric measurements that are useful in the investigation and diagnosis of brain agingqMRI measurements display sensitivity to microstructural properties such as lipid and protein composition, iron content and cellular organization, therefore qMRI is termed in-vivo histology. I will present novel qMRI approaches for disentangling molecular composition of lipid and iron samples and identify region-specific molecular signatures across the brain and as function of aging. I will argue that the ability to disentangle molecular alterations from water-related changes opens the door to a more specific characterization of age-realted neurodegenerative disorder in-vivo.

Tammie Benzinger

Heidi Jacobs

Autopsy data suggests that several brainstem nuclei undergo morphological and molecular changes very early in life, making them an interesting target for the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases. However, imaging these nuclei is not easy, given their size and location. In this talk, I will review the methods that are currently available to structurally image some of these nuclei at the individual level, show some first results and its potential to improve the early detection of Alzheimer's disease. In addition, I will discuss approaches to functionally image these brainstem nuclei, as well the challenges for the future.

Duygu Tosun

Neuroimaging offers a non-invasive approach to examining the potential utility of a vast number of functional and structural brain characteristics as biomarkers. Neuroimaging has been used in Parkinson disease research for 30 years, but no guidelines have yet endorsed its routine use in clinical settings. We will focus on the role of multimodal neuroimaging in differential diagnosis, monitoring disease progression, and monitoring non-motor cognitive dysfunction.  

Hongyu An

Laura Lewis

Waste clearance from the brain is important for maintaining healthy function, and disrupted clearance has been implicated in disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. This educational lecture will focus on recent developments in MR techniques for imaging glymphatic function in the brain. It will highlight open scientific questions in this area and potential future applications in patients with neurodegenerative disorders.

Maria Eugenia Caligiuri

In the last decades, MRI added value to diagnosing movement disorders has constantly increased. In this talk, the milestones and limitations of existing approaches are reviewed, emerging MR technologies for movement disorders are presented, and possible solutions to overcome existing limitations are proposed. The audience will learn to: i) describe the current status of imaging biomarkers in observational and interventional research of movement disorders; ii) describe advanced imaging techniques for diagnosis and management of movement disorders in a clinical and research environment/context; iii) identify appropriate imaging sequences to address given clinical questions in movement disorders