功能磁共振成像

功能磁共振成像功能磁共振成像（ＦＭＲＩ）是一种利用快速磁共振成像方法探测大脑功能区域的新工具．常规的磁共振成像（ＭＲＩ）是观测高分辨率的大脑的解剖学图像，而ＦＭＲＩ只观测真正执行、控制、监视某一特定功能的那一部分的大脑结构．与已有的其他功能成像方法相...     

核磁共振脑成像技术

 人类对自己大脑的认识相对其他器官来说非常少,一个重要的原因是大脑功能的复杂性;另一个重要的原因是大脑隐藏在封闭的头颅里,我们很难直接观察到它。但是近几年新发展起来的功能性核磁共振脑成像技术在无创伤的情况下,不仅能对大脑成像,还能辨别大脑进行思维时激活的区域,该技术被称为“人类思维的阅读器”,有人把它形象地描述为对人脑活动“拍电影”。核磁共振脑成像技术为人脑功能研究打开了一扇大门。下面介绍这种技术的理论基础及生理学基础。     

关于l／η（1440）的结构分析

本文通过对Ｊ／ψ辐射衰变到Ｋ＋Ｋ－πＯ和终态中ｉｏｔａ能区的振幅分析，发现ｉｏｔａ峰下有一个０－＋共振态（Ｍ＝１４６７±３ＭｅＶ，＝８９±６ＭｅＶ）和两个１＋＋共振态（Ｍ＝１４３５±３ＭｅＶ，＝５９±５ＭｅＶ；Ｍ＝１４９７±２ＭｅＶ，＝４４±７ＭｅＶ），分别对应于η（１４４０），ｆ１（１４２０）和ｆ１（１５１０）．     

基于改进功率谱熵的抑郁症脑电信号活跃性研究

采用非线性动力学方法研究脑精神疾病是近年来国内外学者研究的热点和趋势.针对脑精神疾病的研究和诊断中缺少客观有效的量化参数和量化指标的状况,提出了一种根据对时间序列功率谱划分而定义的谱熵,然后用其计算和分析脑电信号谱熵的方法.通过数据仿真试验证明该谱熵和信号活跃性之间存在正相关关系.基于这种相关性,应用该方法对抑郁症患者和正常对照组的脑电信号功率谱熵进行了数值计算,然后进行了分析对比和统计检验.实验结果表明:抑郁症患者脑电信号的功率谱熵在部分脑区显著弱于正常健康人.证明该谱熵能够表征大脑电生理活动状况,提供反映其活动性强弱的信息,可以作为度量大脑电生理活动性的一个参数.这对于能否将该功率谱熵作为诊断脑精神疾病的物理参数具有积极意义.     

基于自适应模板法的脑电信号转移熵分析

脑电信号是一种产生机理相当复杂且非常微弱的随机信号, 综合反映了大脑组织的脑电活动及大脑的功能状态. 由于脑电信号的微弱性, 传统的基本模板方法在脑电信号分析上得到了良好的应用. 为进一步提升分析脑电信号的性能, 提出了一种新的基于自适应模板的转移熵方法并分析了青少年脑电与成年人脑电信号. 结果表明: 对于青少年脑电还是成年人脑电, 与基本模板法相比, 基于自适应模板法的转移熵可以更显著地表示脑电信号的耦合作用, 并且具有更好的区分度, 这将能更好地捕捉到信号中的动态信息、系统动力学复杂性的改变. 同时, 该方法将更有利于医学临床诊断的辅助检测, 对脑电信号是否处于病理状态的诊断提供了新的更好的判断依据.     

基于复杂度的针刺脑电信号特征提取

为探究针灸刺激对大脑活动产生的影响,文章设计了4种针刺频率针刺右腿足三里穴获取脑电的实验.首次采用排序递归图和关联维数方法提取针刺脑电信号的复杂度参数来反映针刺大脑的功能状态,并基于这些方法研究了针刺作用对大脑功能区域的影响以及不同针刺频率与脑电复杂度的相关性.发现针刺时脑电的复杂度高于针刺前,尤以频率为100次/min的针刺影响最为明显;从FP2, F7, T3导联脑电中提取的确定性指标(DET)可作为区分针刺状态与针刺前状态的一种特征参数. 关键词： 针灸 脑电 排序递归图 关联维数     

脑磁场的测量与分析

当代对大脑的研究主要分为两个方面:从微观上研究单神经元和亚细包元;从宏观上研究较复杂的、包括行为在内的大脑功能.本文介绍一种研究大脑的介于两者之间的手段——脑磁成象术(MEG),它反映了在细胞结构范围内的脑皮层神经群的活动.由于它对大脑无危害,因而被认为是一种很有前途的人脑功能研究手段. 近十年来,许多新方法被用于人脑的研究,计算机辅助的断层X射线照相术(CT)和磁共振成象(MRI)可精确地研究脑的解剖结构.局部脑血流测量(RCBF)和正电子发射断层成象术(PET)可得到有关脑功能的信息.但是,由于X射线、随时间变化的磁场梯度…     

CmⅡ偶宇称光谱能级的模式识别研究

利用模式识别的主成分分析法对ＣｍⅡ偶宇称光谱的电子组态进行了分类，得出了５ｆ＾８７ｓ，５ｆ＾８６ｄ，５ｆ＾７７ｓ７０，５ｆ＾７６ｄ７ｐ各组态间的分类判别，并利用所得分类判据分析了谱线的能级，同位素位移，总角动量量子数和Ｌａｎｄｅ因子对谱线归属的综合影响。结果表明：选择适当的模式识别方法和空间投影，寻找组态间的分类判据，可以有效地对原子光谱的电子组态进行分类和预报。     

MyM′1－yFClxBr1－x：Sm2＋的电子跃迁过程和光谱烧孔效率

通过测量无机光谱烧孔系列材料ＭｙＭ′１－ｙＦＣｌｘＢｒ１－ｘ：Ｓｍ２＋（Ｍ＝Ｍｇ，Ｃａ，Ｓｒ，Ｂａ）中４ｆ５ｄ带的激发光谱随组分ｘ和ｙ的变化，５ＤＪ—７Ｆ０（Ｊ＝２，１，０）跃迁的荧光衰减随组分与温度的变化，对其烧孔的电子跃迁过程及其对烧孔效率的影响进行了研究．得出结论：在此系列材料中，随着Ｂｒ含量和小半径的碱土离子的增加，Ｓｍ２＋的４ｆ５ｄ带与５ＤＪ能级更加接近，使７Ｆ０—５ＤＪ的电子跃迁几率增大，烧孔效率提高     

MgO分子B~1Σ~ -X~1Σ~ 带系及MgH分子A~2Π-X~2Σ~ 带系振子强度的计算

选用ＳＴＯ４Ｇ双ζ扩展基组,用单组态自洽场方法计算分子轨道,然后作较大规模的组态相互作用计算,得到分子电子态的能量和波函数。在偶极近似下,进一步计算了ＭｇＯ分子Ｂ１Σ＋－Ｘ１Σ＋带系及ＭｇＨ分子Ａ２Π－Ｘ２Σ＋带系的振子强度,其值分别为ｆ１＝１．６２２×１０－３,ｆ２＝１．８１４×１０－３。     

Compensation of susceptibility-induced signal loss in echo-planar imaging for functional applications

Functional magnetic resonance imaging favors the use of multi-slice gradient-recalled echo-planar imaging due to its short image acquisition times, whole brain coverage and sensitivity to BOLD contrast. However, despite its advantages, gradient-recalled echo-planar imaging also is sensitive to static magnetic field gradients arising primarily from air-tissue interfaces. This can lead to image artifacts such as voxel shifts and complete signal loss. A method to recover signal loss by adjusting the refocusing gradient amplitude in the slice-select direction, preferably axially, is proposed. This method is implemented as an automated computer algorithm that partitions echo-planar images into regions of recoverable signal intensities using a histogram analysis and determines each region's proper refocusing gradient amplitude. As an example, different refocusing gradient amplitudes are interleaved in a fMRI acquisition to maximize the signal to noise ratio and obtain functional activation in normal and dropout regions. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated by recovering signal voids in the orbitofrontal cortex, parahippocampal/amygdala region, and inferior visual association cortex near the cerebellum.     

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Basal Ganglia and Cerebellum Using a Simple Motor Paradigm

Activation of cortical and subcortical motor areas of the brain, including primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, basal ganglia and cerebellum, were successfully investigated in seven right-handed, normal volunteers during a simple, rapid, thumb flexion-extension task using functional magnetic resonance imaging. A multi-slice echo-planar imaging sequence was used to cover the entire brain. A signal increase varying from 2% to 6% was observed for the different regions involved in the motor task. Moving the non-dominant thumb was associated with a more bilateral activation pattern in both putamen and cerebellar regions. This study demonstrates the capability of functional magnetic resonance imaging to delineate simultaneously many activated brain areas that are commonly thought to be involved in the performance of motor tasks.     

Task-specific deactivation patterns in functional magnetic resonance imaging

In general, image analysis of cognitive experiments using functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques has emphasized those regions of the brain where increases in signal intensity, with regard to the reference state, are associated with activation. Nevertheless, a number of recent papers have shown that there are areas of deactivation as well. In this study, we have used a univariate analysis and echo-planar functional magnetic resonance imaging to address the relationship of the reference state to the deactivations. We employed two dichotomous covert tasks, orthographic lexical retrieval and pure visual retrieval, to contrast with the reference state (baseline) of silent counting. Our analysis yielded extensive, task-specific landscapes of regional incremental and decremental responses. We have specifically demonstrated that the decremental responses are not due to activation in the reference state. We have also demonstrated that they are not an artifact of a specific part of the image analysis, and propose that they represent a physiological, task specific signal that should be considered an integral component of neural networks representing brain function.     

Activation mapping as a percentage of local excitation: fMRI stability within scans, between scans and across field strengths

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) does not typically yield highly reproducible maps of brain activation. Maps can vary significantly even with constant scanning parameters and consistent task performance conditions (Liu et al., Magn. Reson. Med., 2004, 52:751-760). Reproducibility is even more of a problem when comparing fMRI signal magnitude and spatial extent of activation across scans involving different task performance levels, scan durations, pulse sequences or magnetic field strengths. In this report, the consistency of fMRI was reexamined by considering the relative spatial and temporal distribution of fMRI blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) activation signals separately from the absolute magnitude of the activation signal in each brain area. Subjects repeatedly performed the same simple motor task but under a variety of imaging conditions, using both spiral and standard echo-planar pulse sequences and at 1.5- and 4.0-T magnetic field strengths. The results demonstrate that the absolute amplitude of BOLD statistical activation signals varied significantly across time and scanning conditions, but the relative spatial pattern of BOLD activation was highly reproducible across all conditions. Analysis of realistic simulated fMRI data sets indicates that stability of relative activation patterns could provide a useful tool for assessing the accuracy of fMRI maps.     

Neonatal auditory activation detected by functional magnetic resonance imaging

The objective of this study was to detect auditory cortical activation in non-sedated neonates employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Using echo-planar functional brain imaging, subjects were presented with a frequency-modulated pure tone; the BOLD signal response was mapped in 5 mm-thick slices running parallel to the superior temporal gyrus. Twenty healthy neonates (13 term, 7 preterm) at term and 4 adult control subjects. Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal in response to auditory stimulus was detected in all 4 adults and in 14 of the 20 neonates. FMRI studies of adult subjects demonstrated increased signal in the superior temporal regions during auditory stimulation. In contrast, signal decreases were detected during auditory stimulation in 9 of 14 newborns with BOLD response. fMRI can be used to detect brain activation with auditory stimulation in human infants.     

Failure to direct detect magnetic field dephasing corresponding to ERP generation

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has become the method of choice for mapping brain activity in human subjects and detects changes in regional blood oxygenation and volume associated with local changes in neuronal activity. While imaging based on blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast has good spatial resolution and sensitivity, the hemodynamic signal develops relatively slowly and is only indirectly related to neuronal activity. An alternative approach termed magnetic source magnetic resonance imaging (msMRI) is based on the premise that neural activity may be mapped by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with greater temporal resolution by detecting the local magnetic field perturbations associated with local neuronal electric currents. We used a hybrid ms/BOLD MRI method to investigate whether msMRI could detect signal changes that occur simultaneously at the time of the production of well-defined event-related potentials, the P300 and N170, in regions that previously have been identified as generators of these electrical signals. Robust BOLD activations occurred after some seconds, but we were unable to detect any significant changes in the T2*-weighted signal in these locations that correlated temporally with the timings of the evoked response potentials (ERPs).     

Postprocessing of functional MRI data of motor cortex stimulation measured with a standard 1.5 T imager

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is usually based on acquisition of alternating series of images under rest and an activation task (stimulus). Brain activation maps can be generated from fMRI data sets by applying several mathematical methods. Two methods of image postprocessing have been compared: (i) simple difference of mean values between rest and stimulation, and (ii) Student's t-test. The comparison shows that the difference method is very sensitive to arbitrary signal fluctuations as seen mainly in large vessels (e.g., in the sagittal sinus), leading to insignificantly activated spots in brain activation maps. In contrary, Student's t-test maps show strongly reduced sensitivity for fluctuations and have the advantage of giving activation thresholds by setting significance levels. This allows the comparison of activation strength between patient collectives by using a grid overlay technique leading to an observer independent quantification of the stimulation effects. The method was able to reproduce previous findings of activation differences between healthy volunteers and schizophrenic patients. Moreover, a simple algorithm for the correction of slight head movements during the functional imaging task is presented. The algorithm is based on shifting the fMRI data set relative to a reference image by maximizing the linear correlation coefficients. This leads to a further reduction of insignificant brain activation and to an improvement in brain activation map quality.     

Direct detection of neuronal activity with MRI: Fantasy, possibility, or reality?

Hemodynamic-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques have proven to be extremely robust and sensitive methods for noninvasive detection and mapping of human brain activation. Nevertheless, limitations in temporal and spatial resolution as well as interpretation remain because hemodynamic changes accompanying brain activation are relatively sluggish and variable and therefore imprecise measures of neuronal activity. A hope among brain imagers would be to possess a technique that would allow direct mapping of brain activity with spatial resolution on the order of a cortical column and temporal resolution on the order of an action potential or at least a postsynaptic potential. Recent efforts in understanding the direct effects of neuronal activity on MRI signal have provided some degree of hope for those who want a more precise noninvasive brain activation mapping technique than fMRI as we know it now. While the manner in which electrical currents influence MRI signal is well understood, the manner in which neuronal firing spatially and temporally integrates on the spatial scale of an MRI voxel to produce a magnetic field shift and subsequently an NMR phase and/or magnitude change is not well understood. It is also not established that this field shift would be large or long enough in duration to be detected. The objective of this paper is to provide a perspective of the work that has been performed towards the direction of achieving direct neuronal current imaging with MRI. A specific goal is to further clarify what is understood about the theoretical and practical possibilities of neuronal current imaging. Specifically discussed are modeling efforts, phantom studies, in vitro studies, and human studies.     

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.     

Optimization of residual water signal removal by HLSVD on simulated short echo time proton MR spectra of the human brain

Suppression of the residual water signal from proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectra recorded in human brain is a prerequisite to an accurate quantification of cerebral metabolites. Several postacquisition methods of residual water signal suppression have been reported but none of them provide a complete elimination of the residual water signal, thereby preventing reliable quantification of brain metabolites. In the present study, the elimination of the residual water signal by the Hankel Lanczos singular value decomposition method has been evaluated and optimized to provide fast automated processing of spectra. Model free induction decays, reproducing the proton signal acquired in human brain localized MR spectroscopy at short echo times (e.g., 20 ms), have been generated. The optimal parameters in terms of number of components and dimension of the Hankel data matrix allowing complete elimination of the residual water signal are reported.