ANNOUNCEMENT OF 4 DAY COURSE IN fMRI

[Kathy M. O'Craven]

ANNOUNCEMENT OF 4 DAY COURSE IN FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

October 18-21, 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts

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                	   NOTE
Registration for the October 18-21, 1995 session of the fMRI program has been 
opened and is now almost fully subscribed.  While there are a few slots 
left, we expect that the course will soon be full.  If there is sufficient 
interest, it is possible that we may offer an additional course during 
December 13-16, 1995.  The next regularly scheduled dates are: 
     February 14-17, 1996, and 
     June 12-15, 1996.  
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ANNOUNCEMENT OF 4 DAY COURSE IN FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

October 18-21, 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts

The pioneering work of MGH-NMR Center has elicited an explosion of research in 
brain imaging.  While it has been known for almost 100 years that neural 
activity causes localized changes in blood flow, the seminal work of Drs. Jack 
Belliveau, Ken Kwong, Bruce Rosen, and an extraordinary team of physicists, 
radiologists, and neuroscientists first demonstrated that magnetic resonance 
imaging can be used to monitor those changes in blood flow in humans. Because 
this non-invasive technique permits many repetitions of experimental 
procedures on a single subject, it is rapidly becoming the method of choice 
for neuroscience research in functional brain mapping.

The purpose of the present course is to provide a serious introduction to this 
field.



Curriculum

Students will receive a firm grounding in the fundamentals of fMRI.  This will 
include the basic physics of MR imaging, the biology and biophysics of the 
hemodynamic responses to neural activity, data analysis (including both 
exploratory and statistical analyses), stimulus presentation and response 
recording in the context of high magnetic fields and electromagnetic pulses, 
and the design of perceptual and cognitive experiments.

A special emphasis of the course will be the design, implementation, and 
execution of  perceptual and/or cognitive experiments by the participants. 
Participants will break into small groups to design their own fMRI experiments 
These experiments will be executed, and the resulting data analyzed, on the 
final day of the course.

The schedule shown below will be complemented by ample discussion time and 
invited speakers.

The core faculty is drawn from the staffs of Massachusetts General Hospital, 
Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University 
and Rowland Institute for Science.



The Institution

The MGH NMR Center in Charlestown, which occupies nearly 20,000 square feet, 
contains clinical, research, and educational MR activities of the Department 
of Radiology of the Massachusetts General Hospital.  Functional MRI is 
conducted at present using a 1.5Tesla GE scanner modified by Advanced NMR 
Systems for Echo-Planar scanning.  It will be augmented by a 3.0 Tesla system 
of similar design which will be devoted exclusively to brain imaging. There 
are extensive computational facilities devoted both to fMRI and to more 
general issues of brain imaging, such as segmentation and spectroscopy.  
Computational facilities include networked Sun workstations, Silicon Graphics 
Indigo and ONYX computers, and Apple Macintosh computers.


Typical Course Curriculum Outline: (as scheduled for the June, 1995 session).

Day 1: Fundamentals

Principles of MR Imaging                                    Bruce Rosen
Image Contrast and Tradeoffs in fMRI                   Robert Weisskoff
The Design of Cognitive fMRI Experiments                  Chantal Stern
Psychophysical Lab in the Magnet                           Robert Savoy
Basics of Task Activation                                Jack Belliveau

Laboratory: Conduct sample experiment

Day 2: Practice

Data Analysis: Theoretical Overview                          John Baker
Data Analysis: Software Tools                               Tom Zeffiro
Overview of Brain Anatomy and Function                 Gregory Sorensen
Comparing Brains                                          David Kennedy

Data Analysis Demonstrations    Tom Zeffiro/Nikos Makris/Kathy O'Craven

Laboratory: Begin discussion of projects


Day 3: Results

Limits of Spatial and Temporal Resolution              Peter Bandettini
Neuroimaging in Psychiatry                                  Scott Rauch
fMRI of OCD                                                Hans Breiter
Presurgical Planning                                    Brad Buchbinder
Language Lateralization                                  Randall Benson
Visual System                                             Roger Tootell
Hardware Design in EPI                                      Pete Roemer
EPI, fMRI, and Beyond                                  Gregory Sorensen
EPISTAR and fMRI                                         Robert Edelman

Laboratory: Implement experimental protocols


Day 4: Laboratory Session

Morning: Conduct experiments on two subjects
Afternoon: Analyze data and discuss results


Thomas J. Brady, M.D.         Director, MGH-NMR Center
Bruce R. Rosen, M.D., Ph.D.   Director, Center for Functional Neuroimaging
Robert L. Savoy, Ph.D.        Director, fMRI Education
Gerald Aaronson, Ph.D.        Director, NMR Development

Registration Form

Course fee of $1000 for the 4 day program, payable to MGH Visiting Fellowship 
Program, must accompany registration and is refundable up to 30 days prior to 
the session. Information on accommodations and activities in the Boston area 
will be forwarded upon receipt of registration. A reduced rate of $600 is 
available for graduate students with letter of verification from Department 
Chairman.

Based on past experience we expect this session of the course to be 
oversubscribed. Enrollment will be limited. Please include an informal  
statement describing your background (clinical, research, industrial, other), 
your experience with MR imaging, and your experience with functional 
neuroimaging to help us select participants.  This biosketch will also be 
distributed to other course attendees should you be selected.  It should be no
more than 2 paragraphs in length.

Please E-mail the completed registration form and your background data and 
mail your tuition to:

Dr. Gerald Aaronson
Director, NMR Development
MGH NMR Center
Building 149- 13th Street (2301)
Charlestown, MA 02129
Phone:(617) 726-5812
Fax:(617) 726-7422
E-mail:gaa at nmr.mgh.harvard.edu



Name______________________________________________________________________

Affiliation_______________________________________________________________

Address___________________________________________________________________

City_________________________

Phone_____________________  FAX___________________

E-mail____________________________________________________________________

Preferred Date:   _______October 18-21, 1995

            _______[Possible if sufficient interest:  December 13-16, 1995]

            _______February 14-17, 1996

            _______June 12-15, 1996


* * * PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR TWO PARAGRAPH BIOSKETCH * * *