Structural white matter abnormalities in patients with idiopathic dystonia.

We investigated whether structural white matter abnormalities, in the form of disruption of axonal coherence and integrity as measured with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), constitute an underlying pathological mechanism of idiopathic dystonia (ID), independent of genotype status. We studied seven subjects with ID: all had cervical dystonia as their main symptom (one patient also had spasmodic dysphonia and two patients had concurrent generalized dystonia, both DYT1-negative). We compared DTI MR images of patients with 10 controls, evaluating differences in mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA).

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI): A Brief Exercise for an Undergraduate Laboratory Course.

Functional neuroimaging represents an important technique for the study of the brain. However, the skills necessary for collecting, processing, and analyzing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data sets are complex and relatively few undergraduate programs offer students an opportunity to acquire these skills or to observe functional neuroimaging. We report here on our experiences working with functional neuroimaging in an undergraduate laboratory course and suggest resources for the implementation of a similar exercise in a comparable setting.

The range of motor activation in the normal human cortex using bold FMRI.

Understanding and documenting the nature of normal human brain functional motor activation using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is necessary, if valid statements are to be made about normal and disease functional states using fMRI activation maps. The present study examines activation maps in "normal" adults. Six healthy adult volunteers performed three motor tasks isolating the tongue, non-dominant foot, and non-dominant thumb during a single magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/(fMRI) scanning session.

Bioinformatics and functional magnetic resonance imaging in clinical populations: practical aspects of data collection, analysis, interpretation, and management.

In this paper the authors review the issues associated with bioinformatics and functional magnetic resonance (fMR) imaging in the context of neurosurgery. They discuss the practical aspects of data collection, analysis, interpretation, and the management of large data sets, and they consider the challenges involved in the adoption of fMR imaging into clinical neurosurgical practice. Their goal is to provide neurosurgeons and other clinicians with a better understanding of some of the current issues associated with bioinformatics or neuroinformatics and fMR imaging.