Simultaneous PET/MR Imaging of Human Brain Plasticity

Background: Neuronal plasticity is the brain's ability to continuously adapt to experiences and learning of new skills. Although this affects multiple characteristics of the brain such as structure, function and metabolism, direct interactions between these aspects are largely missing. Aim: Using recent advancements in neuroimaging we aim to identify novel relationships how neuronal plasticity is related across these characteristics. Design: 40 healthy subjects will undergo two simultaneous PET/MR measurements at baseline and after 4 weeks. During the measurements a cognitively challenging task will be performed and the training group (20 subjects) will practice during the 4-week period. Implications: We combine simultaneous PET/MR and novel task-specific PET imaging to study brain metabolism, structure and function in a single measurement session. This provides optimal sensitivity for assessment of multimodal neuroplasticity associations. Knowledge how cognitive training affects multiple characteristics of the brain will also increase our understanding of disorders like depression, dementia and brain injuries, since these are diagnosed with cognitive evaluations. Considering the vast usage of the applied imaging procedures in diagnosis and therapy monitoring, the thorough investigation of multimodal associations offers benefit for the interpretability of neuroimaging in clinical routine.

This description comes directly from the study's public registry record.

Rupert Lanzenberger, Assoc Prof  ·  +43140400  ·  rupert.lanzenberger@meduniwien.ac.at

Andreas Hahn, Ass Prof  ·  +43140400

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