Functional MRI Approaches to Studying Cognition

2018 ◽  
pp. 64-90
Author(s):  
John P. John ◽  
Pravesh Parekh

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a widely used technique for studying brain substrates of cognition. The objective of this chapter is to provide an overview of the basics of fMRI including fundamentals of MR physics and the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) contrast, paradigm design, data storage, image quality analysis, data pre-processing and data analytic strategies. We have discussed three illustrative examples from our published research works in schizophrenia, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by cognitive dysfunction and abnormalities of thought, perception and conation. We attempt to provide a broad understanding of the basic principles of fMRI research for clinicians and budding cognitive neuroscience researchers alike, without aiming to be exhaustive or in-depth in our coverage. We hope this primer in fMRI methods and applications would motivate the reader to peruse the additional resources cited at the end of the chapter while getting started in this exciting area of research.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Fen Chen ◽  
Han Yan ◽  
Fan Yang ◽  
Li Cheng ◽  
Siwei Zhang ◽  
...  

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Blood oxygen level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-MRI) has been widely used to assess renal oxygenation changes in different kidney diseases in recent years. This study was designed to evaluate and compare renal tissue oxygenation using 2 BOLD-MRI analysis methods, namely, the regional and whole-kidney region of interest (ROI) selection methods. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> The study ended up with 10 healthy controls and 40 chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients without dialysis. Their renal BOLD-MRI data were analyzed using whole-kidney ROI selection method and compared with regional ROI selection method. <b><i>Results:</i></b> We found the cortical, medullary, and whole-kidney R2* values were significantly higher in CKD patients than those in controls. Compared with the regional ROI selection method, the whole-kidney ROI selection method yielded higher cortical R2* values in both controls and CKD patients. The whole-kidney R2* values of deteriorating renal function group were significantly higher than those in stable renal function group. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Cortical and medullary oxygenation was decreased significantly in CKD patients compared with the healthy controls, particularly in the medulla. The whole-kidney R2* values were positively correlated with kidney function and inversely correlated with the estimated glomerular filtration rate and effective renal plasma flow. Whole-Kidney R2* value might effectively predict the progression of renal function in patients with CKD.


Perception ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-265
Author(s):  
A. Ankeeta ◽  
S. Senthil Kumaran ◽  
Rohit Saxena ◽  
Sada N. Dwivedi ◽  
Naranamangalam R. Jagannathan

Involvement of visual cortex varies during tactile perception tasks in early blind (EB) and late blind (LB) human subjects. This study explored differences in sensory motor networks associated with tactile task in EB and LB subjects and between children and adolescents. A total of 40 EB subjects, 40 LB subjects, and 30 sighted controls were recruited in two subgroups: children (6–12 years) and adolescents (13–19 years). Data were acquired using a 3T MR scanner. Analyses of blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD), functional connectivity (FC), correlation, and post hoc test for multiple comparisons were carried out. Difference in BOLD activity was observed in EB and LB groups in visual cortex during tactile perception, with increased FC of visual with dorsal attention and sensory motor networks in EB. EB adolescents exhibited increased connectivity with default mode and salience networks when compared with LB. Functional results correlated with duration of training, suggestive of better performance in EB. Alteration in sensory and visual networks in EB and LB correlated with duration of tactile training. Age of onset of blindness has an effect in cross-modal reorganization of visual cortex in EB and multimodal in LB in children and adolescents.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Young-Bo Kim ◽  
Nambeom Kim ◽  
Jae Jun Lee ◽  
Seo-Eun Cho ◽  
Kyoung-Sae Na ◽  
...  

AbstractSubjective–objective discrepancy of sleep (SODS) might be related to the distorted perception of sleep deficit and hypersensitivity to insomnia-related stimuli. We investigated differences in brain activation to insomnia-related stimuli among insomnia patients with SODS (SODS group), insomnia patients without SODS (NOSODS group), and healthy controls (HC). Participants were evaluated for subjective and objective sleep using sleep diary and polysomnography. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was conducted during the presentation of insomnia-related (Ins), general anxiety-inducing (Gen), and neutral (Neu) stimuli. Brain reactivity to the contrast of Ins vs. Neu and Gen vs. Neu was compared among the SODS (n = 13), NOSODS (n = 15), and HC (n = 16) groups. In the SODS group compared to other groups, brain areas including the left fusiform, bilateral precuneus, right superior frontal gyrus, genu of corpus callosum, and bilateral anterior corona radiata showed significantly increased blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal in the contrast of Ins vs. Neu. There was no brain region with significantly increased BOLD signal in the Gen vs. Neu contrast in the group comparisons. Increased brain activity to insomnia-related stimuli in several brain regions of the SODS group is likely due to these individuals being more sensitive to sleep-related threat and negative cognitive distortion toward insomnia.


2016 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 806-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorn Fierstra ◽  
Jan-Karl Burkhardt ◽  
Christiaan Hendrik Bas van Niftrik ◽  
Marco Piccirelli ◽  
Athina Pangalu ◽  
...  

Radiology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 272 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsin-Jung Yang ◽  
Roya Yumul ◽  
Richard Tang ◽  
Ivan Cokic ◽  
Michael Klein ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taishi Hosaka ◽  
Marino Kimura ◽  
Yuko Yotsumoto

AbstractWe have a keen sensitivity when it comes to the perception of our own voices. We can detect not only the differences between ourselves and others, but also slight modifications of our own voices. Here, we examined the neural correlates underlying such sensitive perception of one’s own voice. In the experiments, we modified the subjects’ own voices by using five types of filters. The subjects rated the similarity of the presented voices to their own. We compared BOLD (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent) signals between the voices that subjects rated as least similar to their own voice and those they rated as most similar. The contrast revealed that the bilateral superior temporal gyrus exhibited greater activities while listening to the voice least similar to their own voice and lesser activation while listening to the voice most similar to their own. Our results suggest that the superior temporal gyrus is involved in neural sharpening for the own-voice. The lesser degree of activations observed by the voices that were similar to the own-voice indicates that these areas not only respond to the differences between self and others, but also respond to the finer details of own-voices.


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