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Research INKlings
August 2013
MUSC Scientists Study the Human Brain This new BRAIN initiative plans to accelerate discoveries using high-resolution imaging technologies to observe how the brain is structurally and functionally connected in living humans. With this initial federal investment in brain research, scientists may discover new tools and techniques they need to develop a dynamic picture of the human brain. At the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), several researchers are expanding our knowledge of the brain by studying technological innovations.
Neurobiology of Addiction Research Center The Neurobiology of Addiction Research Center (NARC) is an NIH-funded center that explores the neurocircuitry mediating cocaine addiction. The NARC researchers include Dr. Peter W. Kalivas, Professor and Co-Chair of the Department of Neurosciences; Dr. Gary S. Aston-Jones, Professor of Neurosciences, Murray Chair of Excellence in Neuroscience, and the Director of the Neuroscience Institute; Dr. Jacqueline McGinty, Professor of Neurosciences, Acting Dean of the College of Graduate Studies; Dr. Arthur Riegel, Assistant Professor of Neurosciences; and Dr. Antonieta Lavin, Associate Professor of Neurosciences. These investigators are employing new optogenetic and transgenic receptor technologies to manipulate brain circuitry to understand how synaptic neuroplasticity can be manipulated to cure addiction. Dr. Andy Shih who is using in vivo multiphoton imaging to assess how the micro-vasculature is coupled to brain energetics, and how microstrokes affect neurometabolic coupling and lead to memory deficits. Dr. Prakash Kara, Associate Professor of Neurosciences, uses a similar technology to examine synaptic and cell signaling plasticity in visual cortex.
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Center for Biomedical Imaging The University-designated Center for Biomedical Imaging (CBI) provides cutting-edge imaging resources to advance imaging, train and mentor young scientists, and provide collaborative opportunities for basic and clinical faculty to discover new ways to study diseases and disease processes. Dr. Joseph A. Helpern, SmartState™ Endowed Chair, Director of the CBI, and a professor in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, is an internationally renowned MRI physicist. Dr. Helpern, recognized as a Distinguished Investigator of the Academy of Radiology Research, has developed new brain imaging technology called Diffusional Kurtosis Imaging (DKI) to study the micro-architecture of the brain and water diffusion. Using DKI, Dr. Helpern and his colleagues, Drs. Jens Jensen and Ali Tabesh, both faculty in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, are working to diagnose disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, ADHD and epilepsy in their early stages. Siemens Medical has licensed Dr. Helpern’s DKI technology. As the Scientific Director of the Center for Biomedical Imaging, Dr. Truman R. Brown uses simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study Alzheimer’s and other neurological disease. EEG is much faster than the fMRI, but fMRI provides better imaging of the deep structures of the brain. Dr. Brown believes that harnessing the power of both to study brain activity in the same subject performing a given task and noting correlations between the findings could help us better pinpoint early changes in the brains of those with