Topic 7 - Advanced Imaging

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Brain Imaging

The Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre (WBIC) and the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (CBSU) together provide the most advanced human brain imaging facilities available for research into dementia, neurodegeneration, and their treatment. This includes dedicated research facilities for high field MRI (Siemens 3T Trio and Skyra scanners), ultra-high field MRI (Siemens 7T Terra), PET and PET-MRI, electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography (MEG). Our PET facility is supported by the leading radiochemistry and 'GMP' production facility for imaging neuropathology and neurochemistry.

Ultra-high field magnetic resonance Imaging (7 Tesla)

The Siemens 7T Terra is the first of the latest generation of 7T MRI scanners in the UK (and the third globally).

The scanner was installed in 2016 and forms part of the UK7T network (alongside Nottingham, Oxford, Cardiff, and Glasgow).

Standard sequences are under development, and the scanner is ready for some research studies in clinical populations.

Connectomics

We are not only interested in the structural or functional brain changes due to neurodegeneration and healthy ageing but are also investigating the (affected) neural pathways that are involved during certain cognitive tasks.

We are using for instance diffusion-based magnetic resonance imaging and magnetoencephalography (MEG) in order to study brain networks and connections between brain regions.

Positron emission tomography (PET) Imaging

Positron Emission Tomography (PET), coupled with radiochemistry developments, has the potential to investigate biological processes including neurodegeneration. For more information on PET research at the WBIC, please have a look here.

Researchers

Selected Publications

  • Passamonti, L., Vazquez Rodriguez, P., Hong, Y. T., Allinson, K. S., Williamson, D., Borchert, R. J., Sami, S., Cope, T. E., Bevan-Jones, W. R., Jones, P. S., Arnold, R., Surendranathan, A., Mak, E., Su, L., Fryer, T. D., Aigbirhio, F. I., O'Brien, J. T., & Rowe, J. B. (2017). 18F-AV-1451 positron emission tomography in Alzheimer's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy. Brain, 140(3), 781-791. doi:10.1093/brain/aww340 PMID: 28122879 PMC5382948
  • Bevan Jones, W. R., Cope, T. E., Passamonti, L., Fryer, T. D., Hong, Y. T., Aigbirhio, F., Kril, J. J., Forrest, S. L., Allinson, K., Coles, J. P., Simon Jones, P., Spillantini, M. G., Hodges, J. R., O'Brien, J. T., & Rowe, J. B. (2016). [18F]AV-1451 PET in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia due to MAPT mutation. Ann Clin Transl Neurol, 3(12), 940-947. doi:10.1002/acn3.366 PMID: 28097206 PMC5224822