ISMRM22 - Preclinical Neuro MRI

Joint Annual Meeting ISMRM-ESMRMB & ISMRT 31st Annual Meeting • 07-12 May 2022 • London, UK

Preclinical Neuro MRI

Weekday Course

ORGANIZERS: Xin Yu, Louise van der Weerd, Harish Poptani

Wednesday, 11 May 2022

ICC Capital Suite 10-11

14:30 - 16:30

Moderators:
Connectivity in the Mouse Brain: Xiao-Yong Zhang

Skill Level: Basic to Advanced

Session Number: W-04

Session Number: W-04

Overview
This session will focus on cutting-edge developments in preclinical imaging with specific applications to neuroimaging. The topics will include: 1) functional connectivity by fMRI including optogenetic fMRI and resting-state fMRI; 2) structural anatomy and connectivity by anatomical imaging, diffusion tensor MRI; 3) quantification of physiological and metabolic parameters such as cerebral blood flow and oxygen consumption; and 4) high-throughput MRI for neurological and pharmaceutical research.

This session is one of three preclinical educational sessions. While these are organized around one organ system, each session contains a lecture of general preclinical interest (physiology & anaesthesia, hardware & software developments, high-throughput MRI in an imaging facility).

Target Audience
Basic to advanced-level MR researchers, including Ph.D. students, postdocs, and fellows and M.D.s interested in learning the latest developments in preclinical imaging and its applications in neuroscience.

Educational Objectives
As a result of attending this course, participants should be able to:
- Recognize the challenges and opportunities in delineating various aspects of functional connectivity in preclinical models by fMRI;
- Recognize the value of mouse brain connectome in neuroscience research;
- Recognize the challenges and opportunities in quantifying physiological and metabolic parameters in preclinical models; and
- Recognize the need and challenges for high-throughput MRI in neurological and pharmaceutical research.

	Connectivity in the Mouse Brain
14:30		Functional Networks in the Rodent Brain View the Presentation Nanyin Zhang A major challenge in mental health research has been the difficulty to directly translate from human symptoms to animal models that have unique behavioral repertoire. The brain circuit/network function, which can be readily measured using resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI), might provide a link between animal models and human patients. With this method, significant progress has been made that allows rodent’s brain circuit/network function to be reliably examined. Importantly, rsfMRI in rodents can be combined with multiple neuroscience approaches including optogenetics, DREADDs and electrophysiology, making it possible to further derive causal relationship between brain network function and behavior.
15:00		Structure-Function Coupling in the Mouse Connectome Video Unavailable Alessandro Gozzi
	Physiological & High-Throughput Preclinical Imaging
15:30		Deciphering the dynamics of pathophysiological processes in animal models of age-related brain diseases using MRI View the Presentation Jan Klohs The use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in animal models of brain diseases has opened-up exciting possibilities to non-invasively interrogate pathological changes in the model brain and to monitor the dynamics of these events over the disease course. In my lecture I will showcase recent advances in MRI methodology and discuss their current applications for the research of cerebral ischemia and other age-related brain diseases. Applications span from the assessment of anatomical information of the brain, to quantitative probing of its microstructure and chemical composition, as well as deriving physiological and molecular information using dedicated imaging probes.
16:00		High-Throughput MRI for Pharmacological Studies Video Permission Withheld Nicolau Beckmann In vivo imaging has become an integral part of pharmaceutical research, and MRI with its great flexibility is an important player. At the preclinical level, extensive validation of imaging readouts against established techniques, such as fluid biomarkers, histology, or immunohistochemistry, precedes their adoption in pharmacological studies. These often involve a large number of animals, as several compound doses or therapies are compared. Through examples this presentation aims to illustrate possible ways to address the challenges of preclinical MRI in the assessment of reproducible, well-validated readouts while achieving a throughput that is compatible with complex dosing schedules in pharmacological studies.