Biomedical subjects

J C Gore

Publications and source records attributed to J C Gore.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

PubMed1997

Physiologic basis for BOLD MR signal changes due to hypoxia/hyperoxia: separation of blood volume and magnetic susceptibility effects.

An NMR method is presented for separating blood volume and magnetic susceptibility effects in response to respiratory challenges such as hypoxia and hyperoxia. The technique employs high susceptibility contrast agents to enhance blood volume induced signal changes. The results show that for a rat model the dominant source of signal variation upon changing breathing gas from 100% oxygen to 10% oxygen/90% nitrogen is the change in blood magnetic susceptibility associated with the BOLD effect. The results imply that signal changes associated with respiratory challenges can be regarded as indicators of local blood oxygenation in vivo.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Functional magnetic resonance imaging of median nerve stimulation in rats at 2.0 T.

An animal model of sensory activation using fMRI at 2.0 T has been developed, demonstrating that fMRI studies on animals need not be limited to high field magnets. These methods produced reliable image intensity changes of 2% using median nerve stimulation in rats at 3 Hz and propofol as the anesthetic agent. At 6 Hz the activation was slightly but not statistically significantly greater. The feasibility of fMRI studies in animals using propofol suggests that it may be a useful anesthetic for fMRI studies in agitated adult patients or in children.

Anesthetics, Intravenous↗

PubMed1997

Diffusion-weighted multiple shot echo planar imaging of humans without navigation.

A new method is proposed for reducing the artifacts produced in diffusion-weighted imaging. When data are acquired using multiple shot echo planar acquisitions, conventional reconstruction methods produce artifactual images as a consequence of diffusion weighting and small amounts of bulk motion of the subject. If the amount of motion can be determined, it is possible to correct the data before reconstruction, which removes the artifact. A method for estimating the motion from the acquired data has been developed and evaluated. This method assumes that ghost image effects will be minimized when motion has been correctly compensated. By considering the amount of signal in the background of the image, appropriate corrections to the data can be made, and the accuracy of the motion compensation may be estimated. This technique has been evaluated by computer simulation, and its performance has been demonstrated in a phantom and humans with both two- and four-shot echo planar acquisitions and using both "mosaic" and "interleaved" sampling schemes.

Artifacts↗

PubMed1997

Quantitative studies of magnetization transfer by selective excitation and T1 recovery.

Water proton longitudinal relaxation has been measured in agar and cross-linked bovine serum albumin (BSA) using modified selective excitation (Goldman-Shen and Edzes-Samulski) pulse sequences. The resulting recovery curves are fit to biexponentials. The fast recovery rate gives magnetization transfer (MT) information, which is complementary to that given by steady-state saturation methods. This rate provides an estimate of the strength of the coupling of the immobile proton pool to the mobile proton pool. Near their optimal pulse power values, the Goldman-Shen and Edzes-Samulski sequences give fast recovery rates that agree with each other. However, these measured fast recovery rates are dependent on the pulse power, an effect not predicted by the coupled two-pool model. For 8% agar and 17% BSA, both methods (at optimal pulse powers) give rates in the neighborhoods of 210 and 64 Hz, respectively. The Goldman-Shen and Edzes-Samulski pulse sequences have several advantages over those techniques based on steady state saturation: no long saturating pulses, shorter measurement time, and reduced necessity for making lineshape or fitting technique assumptions. The principle disadvantages are smaller effects on the NMR signal, less complete characterization of the MT system, and, in the case of the Goldman-Shen sequence, greater pulse power.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging↗

PubMed1997

Measurement of the point spread function in MRI using constant time imaging.

The point spread function is a fundamental property of magnetic resonance imaging methods that affects image quality and spatial resolution. The point spread function is difficult to measure precisely in magnetic resonance even with the use of carefully designed phantoms, and it is difficult to calculate this function for complex sequences such as echo-planar imaging. This report describes a method that measures the point spread function with high spatial resolution at each pixel in samples of uniform intensity distribution. This method uses additional phase encoding gradients before the echo-planar acquisition that are constant in length but vary in amplitude. The additional gradients are applied to image the contents within each individual voxel. This method has been used to measure the point spread function for echo-planar imaging to demonstrate the effects of limited k-space sampling and transverse relaxation, as well as the effects of object motion. By considering the displacement of the point spread function, local distortions due to susceptibility and chemical shift effects have been quantified and corrected. The method allows rapid assessment of the point spread function in echo-planar imaging, in vivo, and may also be applied to other rapid imaging sequences that can be modified to include these additional phase encoding gradients.

Brain↗

PubMed1997

An fMRI study of the human cortical motor system response to increasing functional demands.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to study activation changes in the human primary motor-sensory areas (MAs), supplementary motor areas (SMAs), premotor areas (PMAs) and the superior and inferior parietal areas (SPAs, IPAs) during right hand finger movements as the rate, force and complexity of movement were varied. A preliminary reproducibility study of a single subject doing the same repetitive index finger movements in nine different sessions over a six week period demonstrated highly consistent and highly localized activation in the contralateral MA. ANOVAs demonstrated highly significant main effects of increasing the force and complexity of movement, thereby illustrating the distributed and integrated systemic character of the cortical motor system. Interactions between brain region and the rate and complexity of movements suggested functional specialization of some components of the system. Increasing the rate of movement led to increased activity only in the contralateral MA; increasing complexity led to greater increases in activity in the left and right SPAs and the left IPA than in other areas. Although activation was evident in varying degree throughout the multiple motor areas, only the MAs showed consistent lateralization of activation.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Predicting reading performance from neuroimaging profiles: the cerebral basis of phonological effects in printed word identification.

This study linked 2 experimental paradigms for the analytic study of reading that heretofore have been used separately. Measures on a lexical decision task designed to isolate phonological effects in the identification of printed words were examined in young adults. The results were related to previously obtained measures of brain activation patterns for these participants derived from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The fMRI measures were taken as the participants performed tasks that were designed to isolate orthographic, phonological, and lexical-semantic processes in reading. Individual differences in the magnitude of phonological effects in word recognition, as indicated by spelling-to-sound regularity effects on lexical decision latencies and by sensitivity to stimulus length effects, were strongly related to differences in the degree of hemispheric lateralization in 2 cortical regions.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Effects of crosslinking and temperature on the dose response of a BANG polymer gel dosimeter.

The effects of varying the weight fraction (%C) of the crosslinker N, N'-methylene-bisacrylamide (bis) per total amount of monomer (6% w/w), and the NMR measurement temperature, on the dose response of the transverse relaxation rate (R2) of bis-acrylamide-nitrogen-gelatin (BANG) aqueous polymer gel dosimeters have been investigated. The gel samples were irradiated in test tubes with 250 kV x-rays, and the water proton NMR transverse relaxation rates were measured at 0.47 T using a Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill multiecho pulse sequence. Both the dose sensitivity (slope of the linear portion of an R2-dose response) and the maximum rate at which the R2-dose response saturated (R2max), were found to depend strongly on the crosslinker fraction and on the temperature of the R2 measurement. The dose sensitivity peaked at approximately 50% C, and, for this composition, varied from 0.14 s-1 Gy-1 at 40 degrees C to 0.48 s-1 Gy-1 at 10 degrees C. The maximum transverse relaxation rates ranged from 0.8 s-1 at 33% C and 40 degrees C to 11.8 s-1 at 83% C and 5 degrees C. These results suggest that water proton transverse relaxation in the gel is controlled by an exchange of magnetization between the aqueous phase and the semi-solid protons associated with the polymer, and that the latter experience spectral broadening from immobilization which increases with crosslinking or cooling. Theoretical and practical implications of the above findings are discussed in the paper.

Acrylamides↗

PubMed1997

Test objects for MRI quality assurance based on polymer gels.

Radiation-sensitive polymer gels have been adapted for making test objects that can be used to assess the imaging characteristics of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems. The polymer gels contain acrylic monomers within a gel matrix, and when irradiated with x rays the constituents polymerize to produce highly cross-linked microparticles that dramatically affect water NMR relaxation rates where they form. The size of these effects depends on the radiation dose and composition of the mixture irradiated, while the spatial pattern of relaxation time changes can be precisely controlled by spatial modulation of the x-ray exposure. This permits the manufacture of complex test patterns free of susceptibility or edge effects, and overall image performance can be assessed by constructing contrast-detail diagrams using a singly irradiated gel containing areas of different sizes and contrasts. Polymer gels are stable and a variety of different tests objects can be constructed inexpensively. Such materials and test phantoms may find widespread application in diagnostic MRI quality assurance and testing programs.

Acrylic Resins↗

PubMed1997

Cerebral vascular malformations adjacent to sensorimotor and visual cortex. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies before and after therapeutic intervention.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: It is not known how cerebral vascular malformations affect the function of the surrounding brain. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can provide information about normal functional neuroanatomy and its alteration by vascular lesions and therapeutic intervention. METHODS: We performed fMRI studies in 24 patients harboring vascular malformations adjacent to primary somatosensory, motor, and visual cortex. The fMRI studies consisted of the acquisition of an image time series coupled with functional activation of motor, sensory, or visual cortex in both hemispheres. Activated voxels were identified using frequency domain analyses, and their number and anatomic location were compared between the affected and unaffected hemispheres. RESULTS: Every patient capable of performing the desired task showed functional activation. Eight patients without neurological deficits showed a symmetrical pattern of activation between the hemispheres. Each had a vascular malformation located one or more gyri from the functional region imaged. Three patients showed hemispheric symmetry in the location of activated cortex but with a marked asymmetry in the number of activated voxels. Each harbored vascular malformations located within one gyrus of the functional region and showed either subtle or no neurological deficit. Eleven patients showed hemispheric asymmetry in the location of activated cortex. In 6, the anatomic displacement appeared to be due to a mass effect of the lesion. In 5, the activation occurred at a different anatomic locale, and the patients exhibited gross neurological deficit in the respective function. Posttherapeutic changes in functional activation reflected elimination of the mass effect or recovery of clinical function. CONCLUSIONS: Systematic fMRI studies are possible in patients with vascular malformations in brain regions adjacent to primary somatosensory, motor, and visual cortex. Displacement of the activated region and hemispheric asymmetry in the number of activated voxels in the functional regions appear to reflect the anatomic and physiological impact of the vascular malformation. Changes in fMRI findings after intervention reflect the consequences of therapy and parallel clinical recovery.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Magnetic resonance evidence of hypoxia in a homozygous alpha-knockout of a transgenic mouse model for sickle cell disease.

All transgenic mouse models for sickle cell disease express residual levels of mouse globins which complicate the interpretation of experimental results. We now report on a mouse expressing high levels of human betaS and 100% human alpha-globin. These mice were created by breeding the alpha-knockout and the mouse beta(major)-deletion to homozygosity in mice expressing human alpha- and betaS-transgenes. These betaS-alpha-knockout mice have accelerated red cell destruction, altered hematological indices, ongoing organ damage, and pathology under ambient conditions which are comparable with those found in alphaH betaS-Ant[betaMDD] mice without introduction of additional mutations which convert betaS into a "super-betaS" such as the doubly mutated betaS-Antilles. This is of particular importance for testing strategies for gene therapy of sickle cell disease. Spin echo magnetic resonance imaging at room air and 100% oxygen demonstrated the presence of blood hypoxia (high levels of deoxygenated hemoglobin) in the liver and kidneys that was absent in control mice. We demonstrate here that transgenic mice can be useful to test new noninvasive diagnostic procedures, since the magnetic resonance imaging technique described here potentially can be applied to patients with sickle cell disease.

Anemia, Sickle Cell↗

PubMed1996

Differential sensitivity of human visual cortex to faces, letterstrings, and textures: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Twelve normal subjects viewed alternating sequences of unfamiliar faces, unpronounceable nonword letterstrings, and textures while echoplanar functional magnetic resonance images were acquired in seven slices extending from the posterior margin of the splenium to near the occipital pole. These stimuli were chosen to elicit initial category-specific processing in extrastriate cortex while minimizing semantic processing. Overall, faces evoked more activation than did letterstrings. Comparing hemispheres, faces evoked greater activation in the right than the left hemisphere, whereas letterstrings evoked greater activation in the left than the right hemisphere. Faces primarily activated the fusiform gyrus bilaterally, and also activated the right occipitotemporal and inferior occipital sulci and a region of lateral cortex centered in the middle temporal gyrus. Letterstrings primarily activated the left occipitotemporal and inferior occipital sulci. Textures primarily activated portions of the collateral sulcus. In the left hemisphere, 9 of the 12 subjects showed a characteristic pattern in which faces activated a discrete region of the lateral fusiform gyrus, whereas letterstrings activated a nearby region of cortex within the occipitotemporal and inferior occipital sulci. These results suggest that different regions of ventral extrastriate cortex are specialized for processing the perceptual features of faces and letterstrings, and that these regions are intermediate between earlier processing in striate and peristriate cortex, and later lexical, semantic, and associative processing in downstream cortical regions.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Effects of osmotically driven cell volume changes on diffusion-weighted imaging of the rat optic nerve.

The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the rat optic nerve was measured in vitro, using magnetic resonance imaging, to determine the effects of changes in cellular volume fraction on the diffusion of tissue water. Nerve ADC was determined under conditions of cell membrane depolarization and (i) increased intracellular volume, (ii) decreased intracellular volume, and (iii) negligible volume change. Depolarization alone had little affect on ADC, whereas volume changes produced strong, reversible effects. Increased cell volume decreased ADC and vice versa. These results are consistent with the view that changes in the extracellular space are the major source of ADC changes in brain tissue.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

The effects of cross-link density and chemical exchange on magnetization transfer in polyacrylamide gels.

The effects of polymer structure and water-macromolecule interactions on proton relaxation in an aqueous model polymer have been investigated using quantitative measurements of magnetization transfer. Polyacrylamide gels composed of 95% water, 5% comonomers acrylamide and N,N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide were studied. The structure and rigidity were varied by changing the cross-linking density of the polymer. The polymer showed a biphasic change in transverse relaxation with increasing cross-linking density which was accompanied by a sudden increase in magnetization transfer above 40% cross linking. This change may be attributed to the formation of rigid domains in the polymer which exhibit solid-like behavior with a short T2 (11 microseconds) and a Gaussian lineshape. Water-macromolecule interactions were controlled by varying the pH of the gel. At high pH (> 8), there was an increase in magnetization transfer and transverse relaxivity consistent with a chemical-exchange-mediated interaction between water protons and the polymer. By analyzing the system as two proton reservoirs coupled by magnetization exchange, the proton populations, intrinsic relaxation rates, and exchange rates were estimated, for different degrees of cross linking and pH. This model affords useful insights into the relevance of both supramolecular structure and chemical exchange on relaxation in tissues.

Acrylic Resins↗

PubMed1996

Auditory selective attention: an fMRI investigation.

In the present experiment, 25 adult subjects discriminated speech tokens ([ba]/[da]) or made pitch judgments on tone stimuli (rising/falling) under both binaural and dichotic listening conditions. We observed that when listeners performed tasks under the dichotic conditions, during which greater demands are made on auditory selective attention, activation within the posterior (parietal) attention system and at primary processing sites in the superior temporal and inferior frontal regions was increased. The cingulate gyrus within the anterior attention system was not influenced by this manipulation. Hemispheric differences between speech and nonspeech tasks were also observed, both at Broca's Area within the inferior frontal gyrus and in the middle temporal gyrus.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Radiation dose distributions in three dimensions from tomographic optical density scanning of polymer gels: I. Development of an optical scanner.

A new method of dosimetry of ionizing radiations has been developed that makes use of tissue-equivalent polymer gels which are capable of recording three-dimensional dose distributions. The dosimetric data stored within the gels are measured using optical tomographic densitometry. The dose-response mechanism relies on the production of light scattering microparticles which result from the polymerization of acrylic comonomers dispersed in the gel. The attenuation of a collimated light beam caused by scattering in the irradiated optically turbid medium is directly related to the radiation dose over the range 0-10 Gy. An optical scanner has been developed which incorporates an He-Ne laser, photodiode detectors, and a rotating gel platform. Using mirrors mounted on a translating stage, the laser beam scans across the gel between each incremental rotation of the platform. Using the set of optical density projections obtained, a cross sectional image of the radiation field is then reconstructed. Doses in the range 0-10 Gy can be measured to better than 5% accuracy with a spatial resolution approximately 2 mm using the current prototype scanner. This method can be used for the determination of three-dimensional dose distributions in irradiated gels, including measurements of the complex distributions produced by multi-leaf collimators, dynamic wedge and stereotactic treatments, and for quality assurance procedures.

Algorithms↗

PubMed1996

Radiation dose distributions in three dimensions from tomographic optical density scanning of polymer gels: II. Optical properties of the BANG polymer gel.

A newly developed method of radiation dosimetry makes use of the optical properties of polymer gels. The dose-response mechanism relies on the production of light-scattering polymer micro-particles in the gel at each site of radiation absorption. The scattering produces an attenuation of transmitted light intensity that is directly related to the dose and independent of dose rate. For the BANG polymer gel (bis, acrylamide, nitrogen, and gelatin) the shape of the dose-response curve depends on the fraction of the cross-linking monomer in the initial mixture and on the wavelength of light. At 500 nm the attenuation coefficient (mu) increases by approximately 0.7 mm-1 when the dose increases from 0 to 5 Gy. The refractive index of an irradiated gel shows no significant dispersion in the visible region and depends only slightly on the dose. Turbidity difference spectra are compared with theoretical spectra of efficiency factors for total scattering, derived using Mie-Debye theory, and the average sizes of the cross-linked particles produced by radiation, as a function of dose, are established. The particle sizes increase with dose and reach approximately the wavelength of red light. The dependence of the particle sizes on cross-linker fraction parallels a similar dependence of the water proton NMR transverse relaxation rate dose response.

Acrylamide↗

PubMed1996

Cerebral organization of component processes in reading.

The cerebral organization of word identification processes in reading was examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Changes in fMRI signal intensities were measured in 38 subjects (19 males and 19 females) during visual (line judgement), orthographic (letter case judgement), phonological (nonword rhyme judgement) and semantic (semantic category judgement) tasks. A strategy of multiple subtractions was employed in order to validate relationships between structure and function. Orthographic processing made maximum demands on extrastriate sites, phonological processing on a number of frontal and temporal sites, and lexical-semantic processing was most strongly associated with middle and superior temporal sites. Significant sex differences in the cerebral organization of reading-related processes were also observed.

Adult↗