Neurological conditions are the number one cause of illness and disability worldwide. There are many treatments available involving stimulation of the brain - either by surgically implanting devices to control electrical signals in the brain, or by transmitting energy through the skull non-invasively.
Every brain is structurally and functionally different. Pre-treatment imaging is key in determining which parts of the brain are involved in the control of important functions or processes which may be targets for such a treatment. Functional MRI (fMRI) can indicate exactly which parts of the brain are involved in performing certain tasks, or processing certain information. It is a technique that is already used prior to brain surgery (for example if removing a part of the brain due to a tumour), so surgeons can make decisions about how they might take out the diseased or non-functioning brain tissue without causing too much damage to key functional parts of the brain. The process of conducting an fMRI exam involves presenting the person inside the scanner with information or instructions either visually (using a screen) or audibly (using headphones). Visual presentation is most common, as MRI scanners are so loud that it is incredibly challenging to convey information audibly. NordicNeuroLab, a world leader in the manufacture of equipment for the MR environment, has recently developed a state-of-the-art audio system for MRI to overcome these challenges, however.
There is a paucity of literature exploring the impact of visually versus audibly presented stimuli, and the potential synergies available by combining visual and auditory information into a task presentation. Although for some patients, either visual or auditory presentation may be necessary due to sight or hearing problems, evidence suggests there may be differences in the way the brain processes information according to how it is delivered. Furthermore, we believe there are significant opportunities to revolutionize functional MRI through audio-visual presentation of information, and to use the data to help inform treatment strategies for a number of conditions. This could provide improvements to the current clinical application of pre-surgical planning, as well as opening up new possibilities in guiding other types of treatment of neurological disorders.
The main brain areas of interest are those involved with movement, speech and language, and memory. Those are considered to be the areas that contribute most towards a person's quality of life. As such, a systematic review of the literature relating to audio and visual fMRI for motor, language and memory areas of the brain has been conducted. A review article is in preparation ready for submission to a scientific journal later this year.
Additional work is being done currently to test the new NordicNeuroLab audio system in an fMRI setting, and a pilot study is planned to run during late 2025 to explore the presentation of language and motor tasks using visual, audio, and audio-visual content. Methods for analysing the data will be developed in order that results from the different presentation modalities can be compared. These results will give a clearer idea of the implications of conducting audio-visual fMRI experiments, in order to guide the design of tasks for the remainder of the project.
Brain stimulation techniques can be used to treat a variety of disorders related to movement, language or memory, but localization accuracy can be limited.
Functional MRI (fMRI) is a method of brain mapping, giving maps of active brain regions in response to specific stimuli. Patients perform a specific task (paradigm) depending on the functional area of interest. The most common clinical application is in pre-surgical mapping for epilepsy or brain tumours, but research shows there is also potential for fMRI to find targets for therapeutic brain stimulation.
fMRI paradigms are typically conveyed to the patient in the MRI scanner via a visual display. For patients who cannot take in the information visually, information may be conveyed audibly via headphones, but the noise of the MRI scanner poses a huge limitation in the ability to hear stimuli or instructions.
NordicNeuroLab has produced a state-of-the-art noise cancelling audio system for use during MRI scanning. This opens up significant opportunities to improve the way stimuli are conveyed to fMRI patients, allowing better quality fMRI for a wider range of patients.
We propose to develop and test functional MRI paradigms with the potential to instruct the best location for brain stimulation for the treatment of motor, language or memory related disorders.
The student will:
• Investigate differences and synergies in the use of visual versus auditory delivery of stimuli during fMRI for motor, language and memory tasks
• Optimize scanning protocols and paradigms for motor, language and memory fMRI in healthy volunteers by investigating advanced MR acceleration techniques and adaptive paradigms, to allow as much sensitive and specific functional information as possible to be gathered during a single fMRI scan
• Conduct a clinical study in patients undergoing brain stimulation, providing fMRI data to the neurosurgeon or in advance of surgery, and obtaining feedback on the usefulness of such data for guidance.
