Examining The Functional Connectivity Of A Whole Brain Atlas

Have you ever been lost in a location foreign to you? Typically, a person who is lost will use a map to gather their bearings before heading off in the correct direction. A similar approach can be used to discuss recent brain mapping technology, the primary research of Dr. Allen Jones. Dr. Allen Jones is a brain research whose ultimate goal is to unveil a complete map of the human brain, using recent brain imaging and histological techniques. In his TED talk entitled, A Map of the Brain, Dr. Allen Jones discusses a brief overview of the anatomical structures of the brain, as well as, the methods and conclusions of his brain research.

Imagine a football player is tackled and hits the back of his head. As a result, his brain has hit the back of the cranium, then the front.

Using anatomical likelihood estimation (ALE), a meta-analyses of forty- two studies demonstrated extensive gray matter deficits in frontal, temporal, cingulate and insular cortex and thalamus in schizophrenia (SZ) when compared to healthy controls. Similarly the same meta-analyses of fourteen studies showed gray matter reductions in anterior cingulate and bilateral insula in bipolar disorder (BD) when compared to healthy controls (Ellison-Wright I and Bullmore E, 2010). However the regions of grey matter reduction were less extensive in bipolar than schizophrenia. Another recent meta-analyses conducted using revised ALE showed consistent gray matter decreases in patients (SZ, BD) in bilateral anterior insula, dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC), dorso/ventro medial prefrontal cortex, thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, superior temporal gyrus along with gray matter increases in

The purpose of calling the BRAIN Initiative the “brain mapping moonshot” is to compare the mapping of the brain to the Space Race. The Space Race was a race during the Cold War where the United States and the Soviet Union raced for an advantage in spaceflight capabilities. Both countries spent billions of dollars to create new technologies and to run tests trials to space. The Unites States ended up winning the race, and ever since then the United States has accomplished tremendous success in discovering new information on the galaxy, moon, and planets.

Let’s begin by discussing the parts and function of our brains. The neo cortex is the largest part of the brain and the most important. This part of the brain is divided into four different sections: the temporal lobe, occipital lobe, parietal and the frontal lobe. These four sections are located on either the right or left hemisphere of the brain they are connected by axons that send messages to and fro between both hemispheres and to specific parts of the brain then to the body. Our neo cortex is what makes us so different from our primate cousins.

The Groton maze is a computer cognitive test which requires a participant to find a twenty eight step pathway that is hidden on a 10 x 10 matrix of squares (Morgan et al. 2011). The maze measures the visuospatial executive function of an individual. This is done by assessing the total errors made throughout the trials which will highlight the level of the visuospatial executive function of the participant (Morgan et al. 2011). There are three essential rules to the maze that guide the participant’s attempt. Only one tile can be moved at a time; diagonal moves cannot be made; and if an incorrect choice is made, the participant must go back to the last location (Morgan et al. 2011). The device is seen as an effective method for measuring cognitive functioning because it is brief, reliable, valid and resistant to practice effects following multiple completions (Morgan, et al. 2011).

The goal of this experiment was to examine the relationship of the spatial organization of neurons within the cortex between human and great apes. The researchers measured horizontal spacing distance (HSD) within the two species, as HSD has been related to various features of the cortex. The primary focus of this study was Layer III, which has been implicated in previous studies regarding HSD. The researchers measured HSD and the gray-level ratio (GLR) in Layer III of both human and ape cortices to assess their hypothesis of whether or not the spatial organization of neurons in the frontal pole actually varies between humans and apes. The researchers

Our genes have an impact on our good or evil intentions to some extent. We are made up of genes from our parents whom go on to nurture us. According to Mutual Responsibility we have electric signals that travel along the branches of neurons and chemical signals that jump from branch to branch, these signals are called neural activity. There is a lot of evidence stating that neural activity is encoding our thoughts, feelings and perceptions (Mutual Responsibility). Your experiences can change your connectome, that's why every connectome is unique (Mutual Responsibility). The connectome is where nature meets nurture. Your connectome is the way you act, your facial expressions, the way you talk, everything and they are the result of the environment

2. Functional brain mapping (scanning a person's brain while he or she is performing a certain physical task such as squeezing a ball, or looking at a particular type of picture) is helping researchers better understand how the brain works.

The prefrontal cortex could be divided into different anatomical regions depending on different criteria, but the most widely accepted division is based on anatomical connectivity and functional specialization, is between the dorsolateral and ventromedial sectors. The dlPFC includes portions of the superior and middle frontal gyri on the lateral surface of the frontal lobes, and receives input from specific sensory cortices, and has dense interconnections with premotor areas, the frontal eye fields, and lateral parietal cortex. This special pattern of connectivity suggests various functionality. Scientists believed that dlPFC has primarily been associated with “cognitive” or “executive” functions. Unlike the other part (vmPFC- ventromedial

The CBC looks to issue proof-of-concept subawards as well as award prize money to posted challenge problem winners, to further our ability to achieve our mission while determining the most suitable funding mechanism for such collaborative endeavors. With this in mind, we welcome leaders across the country and abroad to follow our program and respond accordingly to the calls that speak to your expertise. We look forward to working with you over the next eight years!

These procedures involved in cognitive neuroscience require high levels of control, therefore are usually conducted in a laboratory setting, thus producing quantitative data that can be easily analysed, (Eysenck and Keane, 2010). Nevertheless, the techniques vary in the precision with which they identify the brain areas active when a task is performed (spatial resolution), and the time course of such activation (temporal resolution).Therefore, several procedures often need to be combined to compensate for limitations, (Sternberg and Wagner, 1999).

Anatomical MRI We applied automated tools to correct for large-scale variations in image intensities30 and to remove extracerebral tissue31. We then removed connecting dura manually on each slice in the sagittal, axial, and coronal views. We first coregistered all participant brains to an initial template using a similarity transform that maximized mutual information32 and then applied a high-dimensional, nonrigid fluid-flow algorithm33 to warp each brain to the exact size and shape of the template brain. Brain tissue was segmented as gray and white matter with a semi-automated method

You live and you learn, from the moment that we breathe our first breath, we are assimilating and are acquiring information. Life changing and profound learning experiences happen before we can even speak, as children our learning process is grandiose. Harvard University published a series of summaries on Child development. One of these articles mentions that “The basic architecture of the brain is constructed through an ongoing process that begins before birth and continues into adulthood.” ("InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development," n.d.).

In the field of quantitative neuroimaging, graph theoretical analysis is one of the methods to study brain connectivity [93-95, 100, 101]. A key concept of this method is the notion of topology. This concept can be illustrated with a simple idea which is used when we travel in the subway of any large city. In figure 3 two maps of the London subway appear, the first map shows a precise spatial description of the railways (or lines) through which trains travel (i.e., the subway topography), whereas the second one is only concerned with the relative locations of subway stations and connecting lines (i.e., the subway topology). These two maps do not coincide with regards to the relative position of the stations, neither in the distances nor in the location of the lines. However, the topological map simplifies the problem for the traveler. For example, two stations may be physically (topographically)