Neurosalience: 2022 End-of-Year Summary

Alfie Wearn

Since our last Neurosalience blog post, we have released 5 new episodes on topics including methods for unconsciously training the brain using fMRI, new methods for directly measuring neural activity with MRI, and a look back at the discovery of resting state fMRI.​

These are the last episodes of 2022. We’ll be back with our next episode in early January. Thank you for joining us this year, and happy holidays! 
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If you missed any of our most recent episodes, check them out below:

Season 3 Episode 4: In Vivo Direct Imaging of Neuronal Activity with MRI – DIANA
Guests: Jang-Yeon Park & Phan Tan Toi
Watch / Listen
In October, a paper was published in Science that caused quite a stir, titled In vivo direct imaging of neuronal activity at high temporospatial resolution. In this paper, the authors demonstrate a series of stunning experiments that provide new and compelling evidence for novel ways to use fMRI in vivo - as a means of directly measuring neural activity (as opposed to via a proxy like BOLD). This method promises to move neuroscience and neuroimaging forward and in exciting new directions.
 
This interview is with Professor Jang-Yeon Park, who is the senior author and advisor to graduate student and first author, Phan Tan Toi, both at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea. In this episode, we delve into many of the experimental details, findings, and potential caveats, as well as contrast mechanisms, and possible future directions of this method for more deeply and precisely probing the brains of animal models as well as humans.

Season 3 Episode 5: Discovering Resting State fMRI & Beyond
Guest: Bharat Biswal
Watch / Listen
The discovery of resting state fMRI ushered in an entirely new subfield of fMRI and a new era in functional imaging that permeates much of what we do today. Today’s guest, Professor Bharat Biswal, is credited with the discovery of this signal. In this conversation, Professor Biswal recounts the events leading up to and including his discovery of the resting state signal. He and Peter also take the opportunity to talk about all things resting state fMRI, including white matter correlations and potential clinical applications. He even turns the tables on Peter and asks a few questions of his own. This is worth a listen as he weighs in on the challenges, limits, and opportunities of resting state fMRI today.
 
Season 3 Episode 6: Changing your brain with real-time fMRI neurofeedback
Guest: Michal Ramot
Watch / Listen
Real-time fMRI neurofeedback is a unique and powerful kind of fMRI involving real time feedback of brain activity to the subject towards the goal of enhancing or suppressing activity or connectivity, and ultimately changing behavior. Today’s guest, Dr Michal Ramot, has taken real time fMRI neurofeedback to the next level by using operant conditioning to alter measured fMRI network activity, independently of the subject’s awareness or conscious control. Here, Peter and Michal discuss the types of neurofeedback-based fMRI, focusing mostly on her implicit neurofeedback studies. They discuss the experimental  setup, as well as the potential clinical applications of this novel imaging approach.
 
Season 3 Episode 7: Digging Into All The Mysteries Of fMRI Contrast
Guest: Seong-Gi Kim
Watch / Listen
This episode’s guest, Dr Seong-Gi Kim, is a world leader in fMRI contrast methods and has been  pushing the limits of our understanding of the biological underpinnings of fMRI contrast towards answering systems neuroscience questions. This podcast capture an intense discussion, in a slightly different format from our typical podcasts. We hit on about 15 of the biggest questions in fMRI, including the pre- and post-stimulus undershoot, negative signal changes, new types of contrast, fMRI specificity, and spatial and temporal resolution. Towards the end, we talk about Dr. Kim's work using optogenetics to provide insight into resting state fMRI, as well as how excitation and inhibition differentially contribute to the fMRI contrast.
 
Season 3 Episode 8:  Pioneer in susceptibility contrast and NIRS and exploring the edges of neurology
Guest: Arno Villringer
Watch / Listen 

Professor Arno Villringer is the Director of the Department of Neurology at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig. He has played a major role in many insightful studies, including those using simultaneous EEG and fMRI as well as resting state fMRI to look at neuromodulation, brain plasticity, subliminal stimulation and processing. Over the years he has contributed to the development of cutting-edge methods, and has improved our understanding of the brain, also working to carry these discoveries over into eventual clinical practice. 
In this discussion, we start with his pioneering work on developing susceptibility contrast for imaging perfusion while at Massachusetts General Hospital, and then talk about his research on developing Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), and using this approach to help validate fMRI contrast. After this, we discuss a wide range of topics that his group has been working on—from methods development to mind-body interactions.

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Thanks to our podcast team for producing these episodes: Anastasia Brovkin, Omer Faruk Gulban, Jeff Mentch, and Stephania Assimopoulos.​

If you have guest or topic suggestions, we’d love to hear them. Please email the OHBM Communications Committee ([email protected]) or Peter directly ([email protected]).