CHBH Seminar Series: Dr Andrew Reid & Dr Olivier Mougin

These seminars are free to attend and are open to all, both within and outside the University. Please register your interest to attend using the link above.

We are pleased to announce that the CHBH will welcome Dr Andrew Reid, Assistant Professor at the School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, and Dr Olivier Mougin, Research Fellow at the Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, University of Nottingham, to present an online CHBH Seminar (via Zoom), taking place on Thursday 28th October, 13:00-14:00 BST.

To arrange a 1:1 meeting with either Dr Reid or Dr Mougin, please contact seminar host Dr Magda Chechlacz.

If you wish to attend, you can register your interest using the link above.

Investigating locus coeruelus anatomy using 7T MRI

The brainstem nucleus locus coeruleus (LC) is a small pontine structure with diffuse noradenergic projections to most of the CNS, including cerebral cortex. This region plays an important role in the so-called "fight or flight" response to threatening situations, but has also been proposed, under less extreme conditions, to allow an organism to adapt its behaviour policies on a continuum between exploratory and exploitative (Aston-Jones & Cohen, 2005). The LC has also been implicated in early processes underlying Alzheimer's disease (AD), and very early forms of hyperphosphorylated tau protein, a hallmark pathological feature of AD, has been found in this region (Braak & del Tredici, 2012). This and other emerging lines of evidence suggests that knowledge of the LC may aid in early identification of neurodegenerative processes leading to AD, and ultimately interventions at a much earlier point in the disease process.

In this talk, we will highlight recent exploratory work we have undertaken to optimise contrast on the brainstem nucleus locus coeruleus, using variations on neuromelanin-sensitive turbo spin-echo sequences (TSE) in a 7T MRI scanner. Due to its small size and proximity to the fourth ventricle, anatomical scans of the LC are subject to head motion, cardiac, and respiratory artifacts, which can potentially hinder contrast-to-noise. We explore the effects of various attempts to enhance contrast using fat suppression, saturation bands, magnetisation transfer (MT), and cardiac gating. We will also highlight some further exploratory efforts to use fMRI and DWI (at 3T) to investigate the connectivity and function of LC under resting state and task conditions.

Speaker Biographies

Andrew Reid is an Assistant Professor with the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham. Andrew has worked with Carolyn Harley (Memorial University), investigating the role of norepinephrine in long-term potentiation of the rat dentate gyrus. He later studied under Rolf Kötter (Radboud University Nijmegen) and Alan Evans (Montreal Neurological Institute), studying neurodegenerative processes using large human neuroimaging datasets. His current research includes use of a simulated naturalistic highway driving task, combined with pupillometry, EEG, and fMRI.

Olivier Mougin is a Research Fellow at the Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre at the University of Nottingham. His research involves development and application of quantitative MR imaging, focusing particularly on physical properties such as Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) and longitudinal relaxation time (T1) at ultra-high field (e.g. 7T) in the brain, but also in the body (both 3T and 7T). He is also interested in motion mitigation processes for MRI at all fields, using retrospective algorithms as well as prospective correction methods. His current research includes realising the potential of Open MRI focusing on the reconstruction pipeline to improve the speed and quality of imaging using the ASG Paramed 0.5T upright system.

These seminars are free to attend and are open to all, both within and outside the University. Please register your interest to attend using the link above.