Bioinformatics and functional magnetic resonance imaging in clinical populations: practical aspects of data collection, analysis, interpretation, and management

MRI analysis of mGluR5 and mGluR1 antagonists, MTEP and R214127 in the cerebral forebrain of awake, conscious rats

Metabotropic glutamate receptors mGluR5 and mGluR1 mediate key neuropsychiatric functions in health and disease and their antagonists hold promise to treat anxiety, depression, inflammation, and neuropathic pain. Pharmacological magnetic resonance imaging (phMRI) using a functional MRI approach in awake, conscious rodents can determine the activities of receptor ligands without the potential interference of anesthetics and independent of the specific biochemical mechanism of action of the candidate molecule. In this study we determined the neuronal activation patterns of 3-[(2-methyl-1,3-thiazol-4-yl)ethynyl]pyridine (MTEP) and 1-(3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrano[2,3-b]quinolin-7-yl0-2phenyl-1-ethanone (R214127), antagonists of mGluR5 and mGluR1 receptors by phMRI. We found that MTEP and R214127 activated specific primary somatosensory, piriform, entorhinal and motor cortices and the caudateputamen each to a different extent and in partly overlapping manners. Additional analysis of the activation data indicated that these brain regions and their connections are involved in mediating neuropathic pain and also, reward and olfaction. Using awake, conscious animals in phMRI can be a useful approach in characterizing candidate mGluR5 and mGlR1 antagonists also allowing a more direct comparison of animal and human phMRI studies.

Brain mapping in cognitive disorders: a multidisciplinary approach to learning the tools and applications of functional neuroimaging

BACKGROUND

With rapid advances in functional imaging methods, human studies that feature functional neuroimaging techniques are increasing exponentially and have opened a vast arena of new possibilities for understanding brain function and improving the care of patients with cognitive disorders in the clinical setting. There is a growing need for medical centers to offer clinically relevant functional neuroimaging courses that emphasize the multifaceted and multidisciplinary nature of this field. In this paper, we describe the implementation of a functional neuroimaging course focusing on cognitive disorders that might serve as a model for other medical centers. We identify key components of an active learning course design that impact student learning gains in methods and issues pertaining to functional neuroimaging that deserve consideration when optimizing the medical neuroimaging curriculum.

METHODS

Learning gains associated with the course were assessed using polychoric correlation analysis of responses to the SALG (Student Assessment of Learning Gains) instrument.

RESULTS

Student gains in the functional neuroimaging of cognition as assessed by the SALG instrument were strongly associated with several aspects of the course design.

CONCLUSION

Our implementation of a multidisciplinary and active learning functional neuroimaging course produced positive learning outcomes. Inquiry-based learning activities and an online learning environment contributed positively to reported gains. This functional neuroimaging course design may serve as a useful model for other medical centers.

The Range of Motor Activation in the Normal Human Cortex Using Bold fMRI

Understanding and documenting the nature of normal human brain functional motor activation using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is necessary, if valid statements are to be made about normal and disease functional states using fMRI activation maps. The present study examines activation maps in "normal" adults. Six healthy adult volunteers performed three motor tasks isolating the tongue, non-dominant foot, and non-dominant thumb during a single magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/(fMRI) scanning session. Group maps demonstrated discrete areas of activation that were task dependent. The degree of variability between the anatomical central location of global maximum intensity for each individual may mean extra care should be applied when using the global maximum to define the area of activation. These differences may represent anatomical variability among individuals, task complexity, paradigm design, data analysis techniques or a combination thereof, which form the basis of our ongoing research endeavors. Standard notions of strongly associated functions as related to anatomic foci may need to be revised.