2019-01-14 15:48:06

Prelude

Today's topics

  • Warm-up
  • Wrap-up on structural measures
  • Functional measures

Warm-up

This cell-staining technique has what kind of spatial resolution?

This cell-staining technique has what kind of spatial resolution?

  • High/resolves fine details
  • Low/resolves crude details

This cell-staining technique has what kind of spatial resolution?

  • High/resolves fine details
  • Low/resolves crude details

This cell-staining technique has what kind of temporal resolution?

This cell-staining technique has what kind of temporal resolution?

  • High/resolves fine details or quickly changing phenomena
  • Low/resolves crude details or slowly changing phenomena

This cell-staining technique has what kind of temporal resolution?

  • High/resolves fine details or quickly changing phenomena
  • Low/resolves crude details or slowly changing phenomena

Anterograde tracing chemicals are injected in brain tissue in order to answer what question?

  • A. What kinds of cells are prominent in a given area?
  • B. The density of dendrites and axons in a given region?
  • C. Where does a target region project to or get input from?

Anterograde tracing chemicals are injected in brain tissue in order to answer what question?

  • A. What kinds of cells are prominent in a given area?
  • B. The density of dendrites and axons in a given region?
  • C. Where does a target region project to or get input from?

Wrap-up on structural measures

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

  • Magnetic resonance
  • Some common isotopes (e.g., H) & complex molecules have a magnetic dipole
  • Axes align with strong magnetic field
  • When alignment perturbed by radio frequency (RF) pulse, speed of realignment varies by tissue
  • Realignment emits RF signals

MRI

How MRI works

Structural MRI

  • Reveals tissue density/type differences
  • Gray matter (neurons & dendrites & axons & glia) vs. white matter (mostly axons)
  • MR Spectroscopy
  • Region sizes/volumes

Structural MRI of the brain

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)

  • Type of structural MRI
  • Reveals integrity/density of axon fibers
  • Measure of connectivity between brain areas
  • (Colors indicate closest-matching 'direction')

Voxel-based morphometry (VBM)

Voxel-based morphometry

Colors mean size differences

Functional methods

Functional methods

  • Recording from the brain
  • Interfering with the brain
  • Stimulating the brain
  • Simulating the brain

Recording from the brain

  • Single/multi unit recording
    • Microelectrodes
    • Small numbers of nerve cells

Single/multi-unit Recording

Single/multi-unit recording

  • What does neuron X respond to?
  • High temporal (ms) & spatial resolution (um)
  • Invasive
  • Rarely suitable for humans, but…

Electrocorticography (ECoG)

Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

  • Radioactive tracers (glucose, oxygen)
  • Positron decay
  • Experimental condition - control
  • Average across individuals

Evaluating PET

  • Temporal (~ s) and spatial (mm-cm) resolution worse than fMRI
  • Radioactive exposures + mildly invasive
  • Dose < airline crew exposure in 1 yr

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

  • Neural activity -> local \(O_2\) consumption increase
  • Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) response
    • Oxygenated vs. deoxygenated hemoglobin creates magnetic contrast
    • Do regional blood \(O_2\) volumes (and flow) vary with behavior X?

fMRI

fMRI (Dougherty et al. 2003)

Evaluating fMRI

  • Non-invasive, but expensive
  • Moderate but improving (mm) spatial, temporal (~sec) resolution
  • Indirect measure of brain activity
  • Hemodynamic Response Function (HRF)
    • 1s delay plus 3-6 s ramp-up

Hemodynamic Response Function (HRF)

Electroencephalography (EEG)

  • How does it work?
    • Electrodes on scalp or brain surface
  • What do we measure?
    • Combined activity of huge # of neurons

EEG

EEG

  • High temporal but poor spatial resolution
  • Analyze frequency bands
    • LOW: deep sleep
    • MIDDLE: Quiet, alert state
    • HIGH:“Binding” information across senses

EEG Frequency

Event-related potentials (ERPs)

ERPs

Brain Computer Interface (BCI)

Magneto-encephalography (MEG)

  • Like EEG, but measuring magnetic fields
  • High temporal resolution, low spatial resolution
  • Magnetic field propagates w/o distortion

MEG

Manipulating the brain

  • Nature’s “experiments”
    • Stroke, head injury, tumor
    • Neuropsychology
    • Remember Galen?
  • Logic: damage impairs performance = region critical for behavior
  • Poor spatial/temporal resolution, limited experimental control

Phineas Gage

Stimulating the brain

tDCS

TMS

Optogenetic stimulation

Evaluating stimulation methods

  • Spatial/temporal resolution?
    • Assume stimulation mimics natural activity?
    • Optogenetic stimulation highly similar, others less so
  • Deep brain stimulation as therapy
    • Parkinson’s Disease
    • Depression
    • Epilepsy

Deep brain stimulation

Simulating the brain

  • Computer/mathematical models of brain function
  • Example: neural networks
  • Cheap, noninvasive, can be stimulated or “lesioned”

Spatial and Temporal Resolution

Next time…

  • Brain anatomy (through song & dance)

References

Dayan, Eran, Nitzan Censor, Ethan R. Buch, Marco Sandrini, and Leonardo G. Cohen. 2013. “Noninvasive Brain Stimulation: From Physiology to Network Dynamics and Back.” Nature Neuroscience 16 (7): 838–44. doi:10.1038/nn.3422.

Dougherty, R. F., V. M. Koch, A. A. Brewer, B. Fischer, J. Modersitzki, and B. A. Wandell. 2003. “Visual Field Representations and Locations of Visual Areas V1/2/3 in Human Visual Cortex.” Journal of Vision 3 (10): 1–1. doi:10.1167/3.10.1.

Han, Wenfei, Luis A. Tellez, Miguel J. Rangel, Simone C. Motta, Xiaobing Zhang, Isaac O. Perez, Newton S. Canteras, Sara J. Shammah-Lagnado, Anthony N. van den Pol, and Ivan E. de Araujo. 2017. “Integrated Control of Predatory Hunting by the Central Nucleus of the Amygdala.” Cell 168 (1): 311–324.e18. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2016.12.027.

Sejnowski, Terrence J, Patricia S Churchland, and J Anthony Movshon. 2014. “Putting Big Data to Good Use in Neuroscience.” Nature Neuroscience 17 (11). Nature Publishing Group: 1440–1. doi:10.1038/nn.3839.