스탠포드 대학교 이진형 교수 세미나 개최 안내     제 목: Towards Neuro IT: Brain Activity Mapping with OptogeneticfMRI (ofMRI) 강 연 자: 이진형 교수 (Stanford University) 일 시: 2013년 12월 17일 (화) 13:30 장 소: 301동 202호

Understanding the functional interactions of the whole brain has been a long sought-after goal of neuroscientists. However, due to the widespread and highly interconnected nature of brain circuits, the dynamic relationship between neuronal networks often remains elusive. Given this complexity in structure, many efforts have focused on building a map of the brain’s global anatomical connections. This information provides a valuable link between measured neural activity and structural phenotypes, but cannot fully explain the dynamics with which neural networks interact. Causal information is therefore needed to understand how activity in one network affects activity in another, and how different structural connections give rise to specific patterns of activity. Together, these structural and functional maps can be used to elucidate the role of distinct brain circuits in generating emergent properties such as behavior, cognition, and disease.Although great progress has been made over the last decade in probing specific brain circuits, it has proven challenging to probe systems at the cellular level, while also observing their global causal effect. The recent development of optogenetic functional magnetic resonance imaging (ofMRI) has provided a key technological advancement in overcoming this problem. Using ofMRI, it is now possible to observe whole-brain level network activity that results from modulating with millisecond-timescale resolution the activity of genetically, spatially, and topologically defined cell populations. The significance of ofMRI lies in its ability to map global patterns of brain activity that result from the precise control of distinct neuronal populations. No other method exists to bridge this gap between whole-brain dynamics and the activity of genetically, spatially, and topologically defined neurons. Advances in the molecular toolbox of optogenetics, as well as improvements in imaging technology, both stand to benefit ofMRI and bring it closer to its full potential. In particular, the integration of ultra-fast data acquisition, high SNR, and combinatorial optogenetics will enable powerful systems of closed-loop ofMRI to modulate and visualize brain activity in real-time. Further research into the nature of the ofMRI BOLD response may also make it possible to extract detailed information about the neural activity underlying a given signal. Finally, the application of ofMRI to translational research has the potential to fundamentally transform how therapies are designed for neurological disorders. For all these reasons, ofMRI is anticipated to play an important role in the future dissection and treatment of network-level brain circuits. In this talk, the ofMRI technology will be introduced with advanced approaches to bring it to its full potential, ending with some examples of dissecting neurological disease circuits utilizing ofMRI.

Short Bio: Jin Hyung Lee is an Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Neurosurgery, and Electrical Engineering (Courtesy) at Stanford University. Dr. Lee received her Bachelor’s degree from Seoul National University (‘98) and Masters (‘00) and Doctoral degree (’04) from Stanford University, all in Electrical Engineering. She is a recipient of the 2008 NIH/NIBIB K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, the 2010 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, the 2010 Okawa Foundation Research Grant Award, and the 2011 NSF CAREER Award, the 2012 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, the 2012 Epilepsy Therapy Project award, the 2013 Alzheimer’s Association New Investigator Award. As an Electrical Engineer by training with Neuroscience research interest, her goal is to analyze, debug, and engineer the brain circuit through innovative technology.

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