Biomedical subjects

Allen W Song

Publications and source records attributed to Allen W Song.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2025

The Consortium for Clarity in ADRD Research Through Imaging (CLARiTI): Overview of consortium sites and anticipated enrollment.

INTRODUCTION: The Consortium for Clarity in Alzheimer's disease related dementias (ADRD) Research Through Imaging (CLARiTI) is a study that aims to collect standardized imaging and plasma biomarkers on 2000 Clinical Core participants enrolled across all Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (ADRC) sites. We sought to summarize the known heterogeneity across centers regarding scientific focus and initial enrollment plans for CLARiTI. METHODS: We developed and distributed a survey capturing information on the 36 CLARiTI site's theme/expertise, recruitment plans, and the intersection of CLARiTI with other ADRC imaging efforts. RESULTS: Anticipated CLARiTI enrollees spanned 11 different categories of suspected etiologies underlying impairment. A wide range of risk factors were endorsed across sites regarding the enrollment of unimpaired individuals. Variability also existed regarding site-level strategies in enrollment into CLARiTI versus other imaging efforts. DISCUSSION: We anticipate that the 2000 individuals that will enroll into CLARiTI will reflect the clinical heterogeneity already in place across the ADRC network. HIGHLIGHTS: The ADRC Consortium for Clarity in ADRD Research Through Imaging (CLARiTI) will leverage and contribute to the existing Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (ADRC) program by supporting standardized imaging and plasma collection across all centers. We summarize the variation in scientific focus and enrollment plans across ADRC sites participating in CLARiTI. The anticipated CLARiTI cohort will reflect the clinical heterogeneity that already exists across the ADRC network. CLARiTI will contribute to scientific goals related to the detection of multi-etiological signatures relevant for Alzheimer's disease and related disorders (ADRDs).

Humans↗

PubMed2006

Dependence of gradient-echo and spin-echo BOLD fMRI at 4 T on diffusion weighting.

Diffusion weighting and spin-echo (SE) acquisitions can be used to help improve the spatial localization of BOLD fMRI at the cost of reduced acquisition rates and lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). To evaluate these costs, SE and gradient-echo (GE) data were acquired at 4 T at five diffusion weightings ranging from b = 0 to 1110 s/mm(2) using a robust visual stimulus. The data showed reduced functional contrast when diffusion weighting was applied. As the amount of diffusion weighting increased, the functional contrast initially dropped sharply, and then remained relatively constant for diffusion weightings above 15 s/mm(2) for SE and 30 s/mm(2) for GE data. GE functional BOLD contrast was attenuated to 94.0 +/- 10.1, 87.6 +/- 12.2, 86.4 +/- 8.8 and 83.3 +/- 20.6% of the non-diffusion-weighted GE contrast for diffusion weightings of 15, 30, 200 and 1,110 s/mm(2). The non-diffusion-weighted SE contrast greatly reduced to 19.3 +/- 3.3% of the non-diffusion-weighted GE contrast, demonstrating the large activation attenuation of a SE acquisition. The SE contrast was further reduced to 10.0 +/- 3.6, 9.0 +/- 2.5 and 8.6 +/- 2.0% of the non-diffusion-weighted GE contrast for the 15, 30 and 200 s/mm(2) diffusion-weighted data. These results suggest that only a small amount of diffusion weighting is necessary to suppress the vascular contribution and spin-echo imaging should only be used if there is adequate statistical power available or accurate localization is critical.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Synchronized detection of minute electrical currents with MRI using Lorentz effect imaging.

The blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) effect is the most commonly used contrast mechanism in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), due to its relatively high spatial resolution and sensitivity. However, the ability of BOLD fMRI to accurately localize neuronal activation in space and time is limited by the inherent hemodynamic modulation. There is hence a need to develop alternative MRI methods that can directly image neuroelectric activity, thereby achieving both a high temporal resolution and spatial specificity as compared to conventional BOLD fMRI. In this paper, we extend the Lorentz effect imaging technique, which can detect spatially incoherent yet temporally synchronized minute electrical activity in a strong magnetic field, and demonstrate its feasibility for imaging randomly oriented electrical currents on the order of microamperes with a temporal resolution on the order of milliseconds in gel phantoms. This constitutes a promising step towards its application to direct imaging of neuroelectric activity in vivo, which has the same order of current density and temporal synchrony.

Brain↗

PubMed2005

Correction for direction-dependent distortions in diffusion tensor imaging using matched magnetic field maps.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has seen increased usage in clinical and basic science research in the past decade. By assessing the water diffusion anisotropy within biological tissues, e.g. brain, researchers can infer different fiber structures important for neural pathways. A typical DTI data set contains at least one base image and six diffusion-weighted images along non-collinear encoding directions. The resultant images can then be combined to derive the three principal axes of the diffusion tensor and their respective cross terms, which can in turn be used to compute fractional anisotropy (FA) maps, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps, and to construct axonal fibers. The above operations all assume that DTI images along different diffusion-weighting directions for the same brain register to each other without spatial distortions. This assumption is generally false, as the large diffusion-weighting gradients would usually induce eddy currents to generate diffusion-weighting direction-dependent field gradients, leading to mis-registration within the DTI data set. Traditional methods for correcting magnetic field-induced distortions do not usually take into account these direction-dependent eddy currents unique for DTI, and they are usually time-consuming because multiple phase images need to be acquired. In this report, we describe our theory and implementation of an efficient and effective method to correct for the main field and eddy current-induced direction-dependent distortions for DTI images under a unified framework to facilitate the daily practice of DTI acquisitions.

Anisotropy↗

PubMed2005

Decisions under uncertainty: probabilistic context influences activation of prefrontal and parietal cortices.

Many decisions are made under uncertainty; that is, with limited information about their potential consequences. Previous neuroimaging studies of decision making have implicated regions of the medial frontal lobe in processes related to the resolution of uncertainty. However, a different set of regions in dorsal prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices has been reported to be critical for selection of actions to unexpected or unpredicted stimuli within a sequence. In the current study, we induced uncertainty using a novel task that required subjects to base their decisions on a binary sequence of eight stimuli so that uncertainty changed dynamically over time (from 20 to 50%), depending on which stimuli were presented. Activation within prefrontal, parietal, and insular cortices increased with increasing uncertainty. In contrast, within medial frontal regions, as well as motor and visual cortices, activation did not increase with increasing uncertainty. We conclude that the brain response to uncertainty depends on the demands of the experimental task. When uncertainty depends on learned associations between stimuli and responses, as in previous studies, it modulates activation in the medial frontal lobes. However, when uncertainty develops over short time scales as information is accumulated toward a decision, dorsal prefrontal and posterior parietal contributions are critical for its resolution. The distinction between neural mechanisms subserving different forms of uncertainty resolution provides an important constraint for neuroeconomic models of decision making.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Nonuniform activity of human calf muscles during an exercise task.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the distribution of leg muscle activity during heel raises using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with special emphasis on quantifying activity across multiple axial sections and to determine if there are differences among portions of active muscles. DESIGN: Pre- and postexercise (heel raise) T2-weighted time measurements were assessed by using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t tests. SETTING: Laboratory and MRI suites. PARTICIPANTS: Eight healthy volunteers. INTERVENTION: Unilateral heel raises every 2 seconds for at least 60 seconds. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Percentage changes from T2-weighted magnetic resonance images of the lateral gastrocnemius, medial gastrocnemius, peroneus longus, soleus, and tibialis anterior muscles, across 10 axial sections, exercise bouts, and a pre-exercise condition. RESULTS: The lateral gastrocnemius, medial gastrocnemius, peroneus longus, and soleus had significantly larger changes in T2 time from pre-exercise times than did the tibialis anterior for whole muscles as determined by using repeated-measures ANOVA and post hoc analyses. The medial gastrocnemius had a significantly greater change in T2 time than the lateral gastrocnemius. Proximal axial sections of the lateral gastrocnemius, medial gastrocnemius, and soleus had significantly larger changes in T2 time from pre-exercise than did distal sections. CONCLUSIONS: This work reconfirms that multiple muscles contribute to plantarflexor forces and additionally shows an apparent proximal versus subvolume organization of activity within the gastrocnemius, medial gastrocnemius, and soleus but not the peroneus longus. This proximal versus distal organization of muscle activity needs further investigation. There may be clinical implications for therapeutic interventions that require accurate placement of electrodes such as biofeedback.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Amygdala activation to sad pictures during high-field (4 tesla) functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Fear-related processing in the amygdala has been well documented, but its role in signaling other emotions remains controversial. The authors recovered signal loss in the amygdala at high-field strength using an inward spiral pulse sequence and probed its response to pictures varying in their degree of portrayed sadness. These pictures were presented as intermittent task-irrelevant distractors during a concurrent visual oddball task. Relative to neutral distractors, sad distractors elicited greater activation along ventral brain regions, including the amygdala, fusiform gyrus, and inferior frontal gyrus. In contrast, oddball targets engaged dorsal sectors of frontal, parietal, and cingulate cortices. The amygdala's role in emotional evaluation thus extends to images of grief and despair as well as to those depicting violence and threat.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

The spatial and temporal characteristics of the apparent-diffusion-coefficient-dependent fMRI signal changes during visual stimulation.

The blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast has been commonly used to detect fMRI signal. The majority of the BOLD signals are believed to arise from the venous and capillary networks. However, only those from the capillaries are spatially close to the neuronal activities, while the signals from large veins could be distant, rendering the overall localization inaccurate. In recent years, an alternative contrast using arterial spin labeled (ASL) perfusion imaging techniques has been proposed for predominant capillary sensitivity. Such acquisition methods, however, are intrinsically limited in temporal resolution and spatial coverage. Another contrast mechanism, free of such constraints, is based on the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) changes during brain activation using isotropic diffusion weighting. It has been shown that these changes are synchronized with brain activation and that they, as a whole, temporally precede BOLD activation, suggesting significant upstream arterial contribution. Moreover, the spatial overlaps between the upstream ADC and downstream BOLD activations are shown to be more localized in the capillaries, which are the temporal and spatial middle ground. In this paper, we sought to further investigate the temporal and spatial characteristics of ADC contrast with additional arterial signal suppression. Also, a pixel-based evaluation was performed in conjunction with the averaged global assessment. It was found that in addition to the known spatial discrepancy and global timing advance compared to the BOLD signal, the ADC activation endured significant temporal heterogeneities. Such fine spatial and temporal assessment could help characterize the exact signal sources of ADC contrast, and ultimately achieve exclusive capillary sensitivity.

Brain↗

PubMed2004

B factor dependence of the temporal characteristics of brain activation using dynamic apparent diffusion coefficient contrast.

Functional MRI studies to date have been generally performed using the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast mechanism. Recently, it has been proposed that dynamic change in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), measured using intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) weighting, can be used as a robust functional contrast mechanism. Based on the differences in the timing characteristics compared to the BOLD activation, the ADC contrast can be selectively sensitized to upstream vascular pools (e.g., arterial networks). In this study we further investigated the timing characteristics of the functional ADC contrast using multiple degrees of IVIM weighting. It was found that the time course in the high b factor range lagged behind that of the low b factor range, indicating that the low b factor ADC contrast included contributions from the larger and faster moving arteries, and the smaller arterioles and capillaries downstream were reflected in the high b factor changes. These changes help confirm the arterial origin of the ADC contrast and offer a direction to improve the localization of activity to small vessel networks.

Brain Mapping↗

PubMed2004

The BOLD fMRI refractory effect is specific to stimulus attributes: evidence from a visual motion paradigm.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have demonstrated that the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) hemodynamic response (HDR) to a stimulus is reduced by the previous presentation of a similar stimulus. We investigated the dependence of this refractory effect upon stimulus characteristics using a novel adaptation paradigm while scanning subjects using fMRI at 4 T. The stimuli were composed of horizontal stripes that scrolled up, scrolled down, or remained static, randomly presented for 1-s duration with stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs) of 2-7 s. We identified regions of interest (ROI) in lateral temporal--occipital cortex that were activated by motion stimuli, regardless of direction or SOA. We found strong evidence for direction specificity in motion-sensitive lateral temporal-occipital (LTO) cortex. For stimuli whose direction of motion reprised that of the previous stimulus (e.g., up preceded by up), the fMRI response was attenuated at short SOAs (2-4 s) compared to long SOAs (5-7 s). However, for stimuli whose direction of motion was opposite that of the previous stimulus (e.g., up preceded by down), little or no refractory effect was observed. Additionally, examination of activity in pericalcarine cortex indicated a similar pattern. We conclude that the fMRI refractory effect predominantly reflects local stimulus-specific neuronal or neurovascular adaptation and is unlikely to be a nonspecific response of large vessels that support broad functional regions.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Linking hemodynamic and electrophysiological measures of brain activity: evidence from functional MRI and intracranial field potentials.

We investigated the relation between electrophysiological and hemodynamic measures of brain activity through comparison of intracranially recorded event-related local field potentials (ERPs) and blood-oxygenation level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI). We manipulated the duration of visual checkerboard stimuli across trials and measured stimulus-duration-related changes in ERP and BOLD activity in three brain regions: peri-calcarine cortex, the fusiform gyrus and lateral temporal-occipital (LTO) cortex. ERPs were recorded from patients who had indwelling subdural electrodes as part of presurgical testing, while BOLD responses were measured in similar brain regions in a second set of subjects. Similar BOLD responses were measured in peri-calcarine and fusiform regions, with both showing monotonic but non-linear increases in hemodynamic amplitude with stimulus duration. In sharp contrast, very different ERP responses were observed in these same regions, such that calcarine electrodes exhibited onset potentials, sustained activity over the course of stimulus duration and prominent offset potentials, while fusiform electrodes only exhibited onset potentials that did not vary with stimulus duration. No duration-related ERP or BOLD changes were observed in LTO. Additional analyses revealed no consistent changes in the EEG spectrum across different brain sites that correlated with duration-related changes in the BOLD response. We conclude that the relation between ERPs and fMRI differs across brain regions.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Changes in magnetization transfer MRI correlate with spreading depression-induced astroglial reactivity and increased protein expression in mice.

OBJECTIVE: Gliosis refers to a range of glial cell transformations that vary according to specific brain pathologic states. Disease, however, is not a prerequisite for gliosis because glial reactivity may also be seen in regions of increased physiologic activity. Our study tests the hypothesis that high-field-strength magnetization transfer MRI is a sensitive technique for detecting transient glial reactivity after experimental spreading depression, a relatively benign perturbation unaccompanied by cell injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Unilateral neocortical spreading depression was elicited in mouse cerebral hemispheres and confirmed by transcranial blood flow and extracellular potential measurements. After 3 days, mice were imaged at 4 T using magnetization transfer techniques. Astroglial reactivity was determined immunohistochemically, and protein expression in control and experimental hemispheres was compared using proteomic techniques. RESULTS: Sixteen ([mean +/- SD] +/- 3) spreading depressions (n = 10) were recorded in experimental hemispheres. Spreading depression was never observed in control hemispheres. At 3 days, an 8% decrease (p < 0.05, n = 4) in magnetization transfer signal intensity was measured in experimental hemispheres, which was associated with a 37% increase (p < 0.001, n = 4) in the intensity of glial fibrillary acidic protein staining. Proteomic analysis performed 3 days after the induction of spreading depression showed upregulation of at least 56 proteins, including extracellular and intracellular elements. CONCLUSION: Magnetization transfer at 4.0-T MRI is a sensitive method for detecting glial reactivity and changes in protein expression not associated with cell injury. These results suggest magnetization transfer MRI techniques may have potential for detecting glial reactivity in physiologic processes such as learning and in early disease states.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Single-shot spiral image acquisition with embedded z-shimming for susceptibility signal recovery.

PURPOSE: To efficiently and effectively recover the susceptibility-induced signal losses for functional MRI (fMRI) experiments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The signal losses near air/tissue interfaces at the ventral brain regions introduce difficulties in the neuroimaging studies concerned with brain functions such as memory, emotion, and olfaction processes. The z-shimming technique has been introduced in fMRI image acquisition to recover such losses. One significant drawback of such an approach is its time consuming nature. In this report, a single-shot spiral imaging method, which combines spiral-in and spiral-out acquisitions along with embedded z-shimming gradient, was proposed and implemented to achieve signal recovery without sacrificing temporal resolution. RESULTS: Using the proposed method, final images were shown in the ventral brain regions. The images were acquired with a throughput of 16 slices/second and demonstrated effectiveness and efficiency in signal recovery near air/tissue interfaces. CONCLUSION: Uniform recovery can be achieved efficiently near air/tissue interfaces where susceptibility-induced spatial gradients are pronounced. We anticipate that our method would be well suited for fMRI studies involving the ventral brain areas.

Brain↗

PubMed2003

Improved spatial localization based on flow-moment-nulled and intra-voxel incoherent motion-weighted fMRI.

Functional MRI signal based on the blood oxygenation level-dependent contrast can reveal brain vascular activities secondary to neuronal activation. It could, however, arise from vascular compartments of all sizes, and in particular, be largely influenced by contributions of large vein origins that are distant from the neuronal activities. Alternative contrasts can be generated based on the cerebral blood flow or volume changes that would provide complementary information to help achieve more accurate localization to the small vessel origins. Recent reports also indicated that apparent diffusion coefficient-based contrast using intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) weighting could be used to efficiently detect synchronized signal changes with the functional activities. It was found that this contrast has significant arterial contribution where flow changes are more dominant. In this study, a refined approach was proposed that incorporated the flow-moment-nulling (FMN) strategy to study signal changes from the brain activation. The results were then compared with those from conventional IVIM- and BOLD-weighted acquisitions. It was shown that the activated region using the new acquisition strategy had smaller spatial extent, which was contained within the activated areas from the other two methods. Based on the known characteristics of the conventional IVIM and BOLD contrasts, it was inferred that the FMN-IVIM acquisition had improved selective sensitivity towards smaller vessels where volume changes were prevalent. Therefore, such an acquisition method may provide more specific spatial localization closely coupled to the true neuronal activities.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed2003

Fast functional brain signal changes detected by diffusion weighted fMRI.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has become the method of choice in the study of system neuroscience, as evidenced by an explosion of such literature in the past decade. Contrast mechanisms based on the blood oxygenation level, volume, and flow changes have been used to non-invasively detect brain activation secondary to the neuronal activity. However, because of the hemodynamic modulations inherent in these signals, their spatial and temporal characteristics are influenced by the complex geometry and varying delivery speed of the brain vasculature. Consequently, spatial dispersions and temporal delays are commonly seen in the brain activity using fMRI. It is thus of critical importance to investigate alternative contrast mechanisms that may offer shorter temporal delays and more direct spatial localization. In light of a recent phantom study which demonstrated the possibility to detect the destructive phase addition from the spatially incoherent, yet temporally synchronized, displacements caused by the Lorentz force experienced during electrical conduction within a strong magnetic field, we seek to apply similar imaging technique to investigate the functional signal changes that may provide alternative temporal and spatial characteristics. It is found that by using heavy diffusion weighting, which is one form of displacement encoding strategies, to remove the vascular signal and sensitize the minute and incoherent displacement, one can detect fast dynamic signal changes synchronized to the task. This finding may help take an initial step toward direct non-invasive MRI detection of the neuronal activity with improved temporal accuracy.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Functional activation using apparent diffusion coefficient-dependent contrast allows better spatial localization to the neuronal activity: evidence using diffusion tensor imaging and fiber tracking.

Recent studies suggested that functional activation using apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) contrast can be used to detect synchronized functional MRI (fMRI) signal changes during brain activation. Such changes may reflect better spatial localization to the smaller vessels, which are closely coupled to the true neuronal activation. Since it is generally believed that there are neural pathways among neuronally relevant areas, methods that would allow clear delineation of such pathways could help validate the neuronal relevance of the activated functional areas. The development of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has shown promise in detailed nerve fiber tracking. In this report, DTI was adopted to track the fiber connections among the discrete areas determined using the ADC contrast, in an effort to confirm the neuronal origin of these activated areas. As a comparison, activated areas using blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrast were also obtained. Our results showed that the areas determined by the ADC contrast consistently allowed better fiber tracking within, while the BOLD-activated areas were more spatially diffused due to the smearing effect of brain vasculature, rendering the task of fiber tracking more difficult. This observation provides converging evidence that the activated areas using ADC contrast are more closely coupled to the neuronal activity than those using BOLD contrast.

Brain↗

PubMed2003

Word frequency and subsequent memory effects studied using event-related fMRI.

Event-related fMRI was used to evaluate the effect of printed word frequency on the subsequent recognition of words incidentally encoded while 16 healthy right-handed volunteers performed living/nonliving judgments. Semantic judgment took longer for low-frequency words. These words were more accurately recognized than high-frequency words at later testing. Low-frequency words were also associated with relatively greater left prefrontal, left fusiform gyrus, and anterior cingulate activation. Words that were subsequently recognized were associated with greater activation in the left prefrontal region compared to those that were forgotten. These findings suggest the specific brain regions where less commonly encountered words are processed in a manner that facilitates their subsequent recognition.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

An improved gridding method for spiral MRI using nonuniform fast Fourier transform.

The algorithm of Liu and Nguyen [IEEE Microw. Guided Wave Lett. 8 (1) (1998) 18; SIAM J. Sci. Comput. 21 (1) (1999) 283] for nonuniform fast Fourier transform (NUFFT) has been extended to two dimensions to reconstruct images using spiral MRI. The new gridding method, called LS_NUFFT, minimizes the reconstruction approximation error in the Least Square sense by generated convolution kernels that fit for the spiral k-space trajectories. For analytical comparison, the LS_NUFFT has been fitted into a consistent framework with the conventional gridding methods using Kaiser-Bessel gridding and a recently proposed generalized FFT (GFFT) approach. Experimental comparison was made by assessing the performance of the LS_NUFFT with that of the standard direct summation method and the Kaiser-Bessel gridding method, using both digital phantom data and in vivo experimental data. Because of the explicitly optimized convolution kernel in LS_NUFFT, reconstruction results showed that the LS_NUFFT yields smaller reconstruction approximation error than the Kaiser-Bessel gridding method, but with the same computation complexity.

Algorithms↗