Seed-Based Analysis : Functional Comution Maps Using The Fcpat Data

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.

Using Functional MRI helps to visualize the brain functionality through local metabolism. In this technology it allows the researcher to measure and track the brain functions by discovering the correlated changes in blood flow. From this functional Mri when a brain function is acted out the flow of oxygenated rich blood is detected and highlighted on the specific location where the functionality came from on the brain.

In past experiments the researcher would have been required to scan images of the entire brain for each comparison,

The study demonstrates that functional connectivity profiles from functional magnetic resonance imaging studies can accurately and consistently identify individual subjects between scan sessions and also task and rest conditions. Data from 126 subjects of six fMRI sessions provided by the Human Connectome Project were used for the primary data set. Each subject was scanned over 2 days (3 sessions each day): consisting of a resting-state session, a working-memory task, and a motor task on the first day; costing a resting-state session, a language task, and an emotion task on the second day. Functional connectivity was mapped in a functional brain atlas consisting of 268 nodes covering the brain. Identification was performed across pairs of scans comparing

This quantitative quasi-experimental study will employ a single-factor ex-post facto design. Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) is a statistic technique that will be used to examine the differences in brain activity recorded functional neuroimging using the neuroimaging techniques (i.e., PET and MRI). The software created by the Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience will be used to conduct this analysis (Daglish et al., 2008).

FMRI: Allows us to see what is happening in the brain WHILE it is working

When a specific behavior is practiced, multiple areas of the brain can light up and become active. When that behavior is continually practiced over prolonged periods of time, the coactivation of the two zones signifies a link to be created between the corresponding locations, thus changing the physical structure connecting the regions. Once this structure is established, it itself can influence the neural activity of each specific region of connectivity, due to the messages from connecting regions being able to pass through.

By using time series data from the fMRI scans and combining it with anatomical data about the region in various correlative algorithms, we were able to construct ROI masks of two structures that are central components of the mesolimbic pathway (also known as the reward pathway): the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc). These region masks had a higher low (< < 0.03) and had a lower standard deviation in mean signaling across 12 scans compared to typical anatomically derived functional masks. Our findings promote a basic framework for mapping other central nervous system structures in the brain with optimized ROIs.

Haxby’s model suggests that the OFA projects information to both the FFA and the pSTS-FA. However, recent studies that explored the connections between the face-selective areas, found that the pSTS-FA is only weakly connected to the FFA and OFA, while the FFA and OFA are highly connected to one another (Pyles et al., 2013). Avidan et al recently carried out a functional connection study and reported a higher correlation between the fMRI signal of the OFA and FFA compared to the correlation between these areas and the pSTS-FA (Avidan et al., 2014). Therefore, these findings do not support Haxby’s model and suggest that the OFA and FFA make up one pathway, while the pSTS-FA is part of a separate pathway. Findings from several case studies

For neuroscience to progress, existing investigative techniques must be improved and refined, and new technologies developed. The following discussion explores proposals for enhancing fMRI technology and modifying experimental approaches in animal research in order to advance knowledge in the field.

DESCRIBE WHAT RESULTS (IN TERMS OF BEHAVIOR) CAN BE ANTICIPATED IN SUCH EXPERIMENTS. "SPLIT BRAIN"

He and his colleagues are trying to answer the questions they have about the nature of the brain and the role of neurons. Do neurons have other connections to other neurons? Will they link with only one type of neuron over others? Lichtman and his associates are thinly slicing preserved mouse brains into minute slices. After the slices are scanned, a computer organizes the images into a stack, creating a three-dimensional image of the brain.

The model was constructed using sequentially mounted MRI slices. This was followed by the segmentation process in which

Title: Evaluate experimental and brain-imaging techniques and consider what they tell us about the brain and cognitive behaviour in typical and atypical individuals.

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.