:: Diffusion MRI methods and their application to neurosciences ::

Supervisors:
Professor Alan Connelly            Email: a.connelly (at brain.org.au)
Dr Fernando Calamante            Email: f.calamante (at brain.org.au)
Dr Jacques-Donald Tournier     Email: d.tournier (at brain.org.au)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is not only capable of providing detailed anatomical information, but is also a very powerful tool for the study of functional characteristics of the brain. In particular, recent advances in diffusion MRI have led to the development of the related field of diffusion-based fibre-tracking. This method is used to delineate white matter fibre pathways in the brain, and thus to infer how different cortical regions are inter-connected - see figure for an example of a front (coronal) view of the brain, created using a technique developed by our group (MRtrix software). Fibre-tracking methods offer the possibility of understanding how brain function is related to the physical connections within the brain, and how disruption of these fibre pathways may lead to functional deficits observed in patients, and have therefore attracted increasing interest from clinicians and neuroscientists.

The principal neuroscience interests of the group are in the fields of epilepsy, stroke, and cognitive neurosciences (e.g. language function), and the diffusion MRI work will have the ultimate goal of applicability to problems in these fields. The MRI work will be performed on a state-of-the-art 3 Tesla Siemens Tim Trio research scanner at the Institute. The potential research projects include technical developments to improve fibre-trackig methods, development of image processing methods to facilitate quantitative analysis and comparisons of the fibre-tracking results, or application of these methods to neuroscience or clinical applications. The particular project will depend on the experience and interest of the candidate.

Copyright© 2009 Brain Research Institute

:: Diffusion MRI methods and their application to neurosciences ::

Supervisors:
Professor Alan Connelly            Email: a.connelly (at brain.org.au)
Dr Fernando Calamante            Email: f.calamante (at brain.org.au)
Dr Jacques-Donald Tournier     Email: d.tournier (at brain.org.au)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is not only capable of providing detailed anatomical information, but is also a very powerful tool for the study of functional characteristics of the brain. In particular, recent advances in diffusion MRI have led to the development of the related field of diffusion-based fibre-tracking. This method is used to delineate white matter fibre pathways in the brain, and thus to infer how different cortical regions are inter-connected - see figure for an example of a front (coronal) view of the brain, created using a technique developed by our group (MRtrix software). Fibre-tracking methods offer the possibility of understanding how brain function is related to the physical connections within the brain, and how disruption of these fibre pathways may lead to functional deficits observed in patients, and have therefore attracted increasing interest from clinicians and neuroscientists.

The principal neuroscience interests of the group are in the fields of epilepsy, stroke, and cognitive neurosciences (e.g. language function), and the diffusion MRI work will have the ultimate goal of applicability to problems in these fields. The MRI work will be performed on a state-of-the-art 3 Tesla Siemens Tim Trio research scanner at the Institute. The potential research projects include technical developments to improve fibre-trackig methods, development of image processing methods to facilitate quantitative analysis and comparisons of the fibre-tracking results, or application of these methods to neuroscience or clinical applications. The particular project will depend on the experience and interest of the candidate.

Copyright© 2009 Brain Research Institute