scholarly journals Neural Responses to Consciously and Unconsciously Perceived Emotional Faces: A Spinal fMRI Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyssia Wilson ◽  
Tiffany Kolesar ◽  
Jennifer Kornelsen ◽  
Stephen Smith
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Spin Echo ◽  
Single Shot ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Emotional Modulation ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Emotional Faces ◽  
Fearful Faces ◽  
Spinal Fmri

Emotional stimuli modulate activity in brain areas related to attention, perception, and movement. Similar increases in neural activity have been detected in the spinal cord, suggesting that this understudied component of the central nervous system is an important part of our emotional responses. To date, previous studies of emotion-dependent spinal cord activity have utilized long presentations of complex emotional scenes. The current study differs from this research by (1) examining whether emotional faces will lead to enhanced spinal cord activity and (2) testing whether these stimuli require conscious perception to influence neural responses. Fifteen healthy undergraduate participants completed six spinal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) runs in which three one-minute blocks of fearful, angry, or neutral faces were interleaved with 40-s rest periods. In half of the runs, the faces were clearly visible while in the other half, the faces were displayed for only 17 ms. Spinal fMRI consisted of half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin-echo (HASTE) sequences targeting the cervical spinal cord. The results indicated that consciously perceived faces expressing anger elicited significantly more activity than fearful or neutral faces in ventral (motoric) regions of the cervical spinal cord. When stimuli were presented below the threshold of conscious awareness, neutral faces elicited significantly more activity than angry or fearful faces. Together, these data suggest that the emotional modulation of spinal cord activity is most impactful when the stimuli are consciously perceived and imply a potential threat toward the observer.

scholarly journals Ten Key Insights into the Use of Spinal Cord fMRI

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jocelyn Powers ◽  
Gabriela Ioachim ◽  
Patrick Stroman
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Animal Models ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Spin Echo ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Resting State Fmri ◽  
Fast Spin Echo ◽  
Single Shot ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Spinal Fmri

A comprehensive review of the literature-to-date on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the spinal cord is presented. Spinal fMRI has been shown, over more than two decades of work, to be a reliable tool for detecting neural activity. We discuss 10 key points regarding the history, development, methods, and applications of spinal fMRI. Animal models have served a key purpose for the development of spinal fMRI protocols and for experimental spinal cord injury studies. Applications of spinal fMRI span from animal models across healthy and patient populations in humans using both task-based and resting-state paradigms. The literature also demonstrates clear trends in study design and acquisition methods, as the majority of studies follow a task-based, block design paradigm, and utilize variations of single-shot fast spin-echo imaging methods. We, therefore, discuss the similarities and differences of these to resting-state fMRI and gradient-echo EPI protocols. Although it is newly emerging, complex connectivity and network analysis is not only possible, but has also been shown to be reliable and reproducible in the spinal cord for both task-based and resting-state studies. Despite the technical challenges associated with spinal fMRI, this review identifies reliable solutions that have been developed to overcome these challenges.

Limb-specific emotional modulation of cervical spinal cord neurons

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 464-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa A. McIver ◽  
Jennifer Kornelsen ◽  
Stephen D. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Emotional Modulation ◽  
Spinal Cord Neurons

Craniocaudal motion velocity in the cervical spinal cord in degenerative disease as shown by MR imaging

1997 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 803-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Tanaka ◽  
K. Sakurai ◽  
M. Iwasaki ◽  
K. Harada ◽  
F. Inaba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Lower Extremity ◽  
Motor Function ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Spin Echo ◽  
Pulse Sequences ◽  
Middle Level ◽  
Phase Imaging ◽  
Motion Velocity ◽  
Velocity Change

Purpose: To investigate, by means of MR phase imaging, the effects of compression on the velocity of craniocaudal motion in the spinal cord. Material and Methods: Spin-echo pulse sequences with velocity encoding gradients were used to examine 12 patients with cervical spondylosis and 6 normal volunteers. Oblique-axial phase images at 3 levels (cranial, middle and caudal), were obtained with prospective electrocardiogram gating. The middle level was set at the site where the spinal cord was most severely compressed, and the cranial and caudal sections were set where it was not compressed. Time-velocity curves were generated at these 3 levels and focal velocity change was correlated with motor function in the lower extremities. Results and Conclusion: The cord showed a higher motion velocity at the compression level than at noncompression levels. This paradoxical increase in velocity was observed in 7 out of 8 patients whose lower extremity motor function was impaired. Four patients with normal lower extremity motor function did not demonstrate this increase in velocity. An increase in motion velocity was therefore found to correlate with impaired lower extremity motor function.

scholarly journals Do the cervical spinal canal dimensions predict pre-myelopathic changes of cervical spinal cord? - a magnetic resonance image study

2015 ◽  
Vol 04 (03) ◽  
pp. 139-144
Author(s):  
Smitha S Nair ◽  
A S Lakshmi ◽  
Ushadevi K B. ◽  
A K Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Spinal Canal ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Spin Echo ◽  
Cervical Region ◽  
Cervical Canal ◽  
Image Study ◽  
Cervical Spinal Canal ◽  
Spin Echo Sequence

Abstract Background and aims: The cervical region is the most mobile portion of the spinal column and it is here that the earliest disc degenerations are encountered. Hence it is of great interest to neurologists and neurosurgeons. Degenerative arthritic changes in the cervical spine secondary to ageing may result in bony and soft tissue overgrowth causing encroachment on the cervical spinal canal resulting in cervical canal stenosis. This may predispose to compressive myelopathy. The study aims to determine the predictability of myelopathy based on the dimensions of spinal canal at the cervical region. Materials and methods: The study included 600 patients who underwent MRI scan of cervical spine in the Department of Imaging Sciences and Interventional Radiology, Sree Chithra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It included patients of different age groups of both sexes who were classified into six groups. T1 weighted axial images were obtained using spin echo sequence. The axial slices were made at the mid vertebral levels from C2-C7 vertebrae. The anteroposterior diameters of spinal canal in axial images at mid cervical vertebral levels from C2-C7 were measured. Analysis of data was done by mean, standard deviation, independent sample t test, ANOVA and Chi­ square test. Results: The mean anteroposterior diameter of the canal at different cervical vertebral levels decreases as age advances. Tbe premyelopathic changes were more in males which may be attributed to change in canal shape. Conclusion: Cervical spinal canal dimensions are useful to predict premyelopathic changes of cervical spinal cord.

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