fMRI

At 3.0T, echo-planar imaging, can be used to monitor brain activity in response to different stimuli, with high sensitivity; this is commonly known as fMRI. This can be used to investigate the function of and connectivity between different regions of the brain, and changes in disease. At Nottingham, we have a particular interest in studying the temporal patterns of brain activity (to look at brain connectivity), and in investigating the basis of the fMRI phenomenon.Our projects in this area include work in the areas of both applications and methodological developments.:

Applications

• Movement Disorders
  • fMRI of Brain Response to Forces
  • Stroke
  • Dystonia
  • Parkinson's disease
• Auditory Function
  • Central Auditory Function
  • Cochlear Implantation
  • Lip Reading
• Somatosensory function
• Pharmaceutical fMRI
• Psychology
  • Cognitive neuroscience
• Psychiatry
  • Schizophrenia

  • 	Click to see the time course of brain activity in response to a single button press.
    	Click to see 3D distribution of brain activity in response to a single button press.

    Fragile X
• The gut/brain axis: responses to food
• Fetal fMRI
• Stroke

Methodology

• Limits to Spatial and Temporal Resolution
  • Combining MEG and fMRI
• Investigation of the Basis of fMRI
• Understanding the effect of neuronal activity on brain physiology
  • Measuring brain haemodynamics
  • 13-C in vivo spectroscopy of the metabolic responses to neuronal activation