NeuroImage
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A powerful, non-invasive technique for estimating and visualizing white matter tracts in the human brain in vivo is white matter fiber tractography that uses magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging. The success of this method depends strongly on the capability of the applied tracking algorithm and the quality of the underlying data set. However, DTI-based fiber tractography still lacks standardized validation. ⋯ Second, fMRI-guided DTI fiber tracking was performed to generate DTI-based somatotopic maps, using a standard line propagation and an advanced fast marching algorithm. The results show that the fiber connections reconstructed by the advanced fast marching algorithm are in good agreement with known anatomy, and that the DTI-revealed somatotopy is similar to the fMRI somatotopy. Furthermore, the study illustrates that the combination of fMRI with DTI can supply additional information in order to choose reasonable seed regions for generating functionally relevant networks and to validate reconstructed fibers.
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Our goal is to model the coupling between neuronal activity, cerebral metabolic rates of glucose and oxygen consumption, cerebral blood flow (CBF), electroencephalography (EEG) and blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) responses. In order to accomplish this, two previous models are coupled: a metabolic/hemodynamic model (MHM) for a voxel, linking BOLD signals and neuronal activity, and a neural mass model describing the neuronal dynamics within a voxel and its interactions with voxels of the same area (short-range interactions) and other areas (long-range interactions). For coupling both models, we take as the input to the BOLD model, the number of active synapses within the voxel, that is, the average number of synapses that will receive an action potential within the time unit. ⋯ Results show that realistic evoked potentials (EP) at electrodes on the scalp surface and the corresponding BOLD signals for each voxel are produced by the model. In another simulation, the alpha rhythm was reproduced and reasonable similarities with experimental data were obtained when calculating correlations between BOLD signals and the alpha power curve. The origin of negative BOLD responses and the characteristics of EEG, PET and BOLD signals in Alzheimer's disease were also studied.
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Many techniques to study early functional brain development lack the whole-brain spatial resolution that is available with fMRI. We utilized a relatively novel method in which fMRI data were collected from children during natural sleep. Stimulus-evoked responses to auditory and visual stimuli as well as stimulus-independent functional networks were examined in typically developing 2-4-year-old children. ⋯ In sum, 2-4 year olds showed a differential fMRI response both between stimulus modalities and between stimuli in the auditory modality. Furthermore, superior temporal regions showed functional connectivity with numerous higher-order regions during sleep. We conclude that the use of sleep fMRI may be a valuable tool for examining functional brain organization in young children.
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Pain requires the integration of sensory, cognitive, and affective information. The use of placebo is a common methodological ploy in many fields, including pain. Neuroimaging studies of pain and placebo analgesia (PA) have yet to identify a mechanism of action. ⋯ Deviations from the B1 model in the PA and PM conditions correspond to our manipulation of expectation for pain. The dynamic changes in inter-regional influence across conditions are interpreted in the context of a self-reinforcing feedback loop involved in the induction and maintenance of PA. Although it is likely that placebo analgesia results partly from afferent inhibition of a nociceptive signal, the mechanisms likely involve the interaction of a cognitive-affective network with input from both hemispheres.
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This paper describes DARTEL, which is an algorithm for diffeomorphic image registration. It is implemented for both 2D and 3D image registration and has been formulated to include an option for estimating inverse consistent deformations. ⋯ A constant Eulerian velocity framework is used, which allows a rapid scaling and squaring method to be used in the computations. DARTEL has been applied to intersubject registration of 471 whole brain images, and the resulting deformations were evaluated in terms of how well they encode the shape information necessary to separate male and female subjects and to predict the ages of the subjects.