Imaging of Sensory Information Processing and Neurovascular Coupling

Presentation

When we think or perceive the world, blood rushes to activated brain regions through a process called neurovascular coupling (NVC), which underlies functional brain imaging in humans. In the grey matter, where synaptic transmission and signal processing occur, NVC is closely correlated with neural activity and metabolism; however, little is known about what happens in the white matter. Since its founding, my group has brought together neuroscientists and physicists to develop and adapt new imaging approaches for studying in vivo brain activity. Over the past decade, we have combined two-photon imaging, functional ultrasound imaging, and functional magnetic resonance imaging to link cellular and mesoscopic signals underlying brain activity in the neocortex, the olfactory bulb, and, more recently, the optic nerve. While the majority of this research has focused on the physiology of NVC, we also investigate NVC in pathological contexts.