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2360 Bonisteel St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2108 Phone: (734) 763 9254 Fax: (734) 936 4218 |
Biomedical Engineering and MRI Research Facility University of Michigan |
| My research interests are
focused on
developing and integrating techniques for the study of brain function.
I have been involved in BOLD (Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent) and ASL (Arterial Spin Labeling) Functional MRI research for a number of years. Primarily, I have been developing ASL methods for quantitatively imaging cerebral perfusion. Perfusion is an indicator of brain function and therefore a very valuable tool, not just for the clinician, but also for the neuroscientist and psychologist. I am currently working on kinetic models for quantifying the ASL signal, and techniques that will improve the SNR and temporal resolution of perfusion measurements. I am very interested in the properties of the BOLD signal and extracting as much information as possible from them. I am interested in the non-linear temporal characteristics of the vascular response to neuronal activations, and I’m working on mathematical models of the BOLD response in terms of the underlying physiology. I am also interested in using the statistical properties of the BOLD signal to extract information about the hierarchical relationships between active brain regions. |
I was introduced to TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) a number of years ago and I am again becoming involved with that area of research. I am currently working on methods for modeling the electromagnetic fields produced by TMS devices within the brain and improving the targeting and penetration capability of TMS devices. I have also collaborated tightly with research groups in psychology and neurology in the study of attention and pain. I am currently studying the temporal characteristics of the BOLD responses to painful stimuli, and measuring perfusion differences in key pain-related brain regions of subjects with pathological pain conditions, such as fibromyalgia. (April 2005) |
