Human Functional Brain Imaging (7.5 credits)
| Course number | 37 |
| Year | 2020 |
| Type | Methodcourse |
| Track | - |
| Max participants | 15 |
| Application deadline | 2020-01-01 |
| Language | Sven |
| Course leader | Andreas Frick; Jonas Persson |
| Department | Department of Neuroscience |
| Visiting address | Akademiska hospital, entrance 10 |
| Post address | Box 593, 751 24 Uppsala |
| Dates | week 9-18 |
| Location | Akademiska hospital |
| Course length | 10 weeks part time, equivalent to 5 week fulltime |
| Course report | |
| Course plan |
Description
In recent years there has been a rapid development of new tools for investigating the human brain in vivo and brain-behavior relationships, and the physiological observations of the brain can supply answers to many important psychiatric, neurological, and psychological questions. The course will introduce students to the basic principles of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) as methods to study the normal and pathological brain and brain-behavior relationships in healthy and patients, as well as basic and more advanced methods of brain imaging data analyses. Both individual and group-level data analysis will be included. The design of experimental paradigms will also be covered.
Learning outcomes
After the course, the student will be able to:
• explain the basic principles underlying image acquisition with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET)
• explain the principles behind blood-oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI)
• design an efficient fMRI experiment
• perform preprocessing, and individual and group level analyses on fMRI and PET data
• discuss advantages and pitfalls of using MRI and PET for studying the brain and brain-behavior relationships
Contents
The course involves a mixture of lectures, seminars, and hands-on data-analysis sessions.
Instructions
The student should be admitted to the PhD education. No prior knowledge of brain imaging methods is required.
Examination
To pass the course, the student shall
1. Design and implement an fMRI experiment
2. Analyze fMRI data, and present the work in a written and an oral presentation
3. Partake actively in seminars and introduce the topic of one seminar. Absence from a seminar is compensated through a written assignment.
Literature
Huettel, S. A., Song, A. W., & McCarthy, G. (2014). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (Third edition). Sunderland, Massachusetts, U.S.A: Sinauer Associates, Inc., Publishers.
Poldrack, R. A., Mumford, J. A., & Nichols, T. E. (2011). Handbook of functional MRI data analysis. Cambridge New York Melbourne Madrid: Cambridge University Press.
Additional articles.
Teaching staff
Andreas Frick
Jonas Persson
Additional experts in the field.