Dear Dr. Chan:
I would appreciate it you would post the following announcement.
Sincerely,
Robert Savoy
ANNOUNCEMENT OF 4 DAY COURSE IN FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
February 14-17, 1996 in Boston, Massachusetts
The pioneering work of MGH-NMR Center has elicited an explosion of research in
brain imaging. While it has been known for almost 100 years that neural
activity causes localized changes in blood flow, the seminal work of Drs. Jack
Belliveau, Ken Kwong, Bruce Rosen, and an extraordinary team of physicists,
radiologists, and neuroscientists first demonstrated that magnetic resonance
imaging can be used to monitor those changes in blood flow in humans. Because
this non-invasive technique permits many repetitions of experimental
procedures on a single subject, it is rapidly becoming the method of choice
for neuroscience research in functional brain mapping.
The purpose of the present course is to provide a serious introduction to this
field.
Curriculum
Students will receive a firm grounding in the fundamentals of fMRI. This will
include the basic physics of MR imaging, the biology and biophysics of the
hemodynamic responses to neural activity, data analysis (including both
exploratory and statistical analyses), stimulus presentation and response
recording in the context of high magnetic fields and electromagnetic pulses,
and the design of perceptual and cognitive experiments.
A special emphasis of the course will be the design, implementation, and
execution of perceptual and/or cognitive experiments by the participants.
Participants will break into small groups to design their own fMRI experiments
These experiments will be executed, and the resulting data analyzed, on the
final day of the course.
The schedule shown below will be complemented by ample discussion time and
invited speakers.
The core faculty is drawn from the staffs of Massachusetts General Hospital,
Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University
and Rowland Institute for Science.
The Institution
The MGH-NMR Center in Charlestown, which occupies nearly 20,000 square feet,
contains clinical, research, and educational MR activities of the Department
of Radiology of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Functional MRI is
conducted at present using a 1.5Tesla GE scanner modified by Advanced NMR
Systems for Echo-Planar scanning. It will be augmented by a 3.0 Tesla system
of similar design which will be devoted exclusively to brain imaging. There
are extensive computational facilities devoted both to fMRI and to more
general issues of brain imaging, such as segmentation and spectroscopy.
Computational facilities include networked Sun workstations, Silicon Graphics
Indigo and ONYX computers, and Apple Macintosh computers.
Typical Course Curriculum Outline: (taken from the October, 1995 session).
WEDNESDAY October 18
8:00-8:45 Introduction and Overview Robert Savoy
8:45-12:30 Session 1: The Machine
8:45-10:00 Principles of MR Imaging Bruce Rosen
(break)
10:15-11:15 Image Contrast and Tradeoffs in fMRI Robert Weisskoff
11:15-12:30 Lunch and Discussion: Safety
1:30-5:00 Session 2: Experimental Design
1:30-2:30 Psychophysical Lab in the Magnet Robert Savoy
2:30-3:00 PET, SPECT, and fMRI Scott Rauch
(break)
3:15-4:15 Specific Design Strategies in fMRI Experiments Chantal Stern
4:15-5:00 Discussion
5:00-6:00 Walk to Pier for Deli takeout (or delivered)
6:00 Discussion; Preparation for "Sample" Experiment
7:00-9:00 Conduct "Sample" Experiment
THURSDAY October 19
8:00-12:30 Session 3: Data Analysis
8:00-9:15 Software Tools Tom Zeffiro
9:00-10:00 General Issues in Experimental Design Nancy Kanwisher
(break)
10:15-11:15 Comparing Brains David Kennedy
11:30-12:00 Tracking Anatomy Nikos Makris
12:00-1:30 Lunch and Discussion
1:30-5:30 Session 4: Data Analysis
1:30-2:45 Data Analysis: Theoretical Overview John Baker
(break)
3:00-3:45 Data Analysis: Making Theory Concrete Kathy O'Craven
3:45-4:30 A Software System: MEDx Tom Zeffiro
4:30-5:30 Discussion and Computers
6:30 Dinner in Atrium
8:00 Begin Design and Implementation of Experiments
FRIDAY October 20
8:00-12:30 Session 5: Future
8:00-9:30 Limits of Spatial and Temporal Resolution Peter Bandettini
(break)
9:45-10:15 Multi-Modality Imaging Jack Belliveau
10:15-11:00 Principles of MR Imaging Revisited Bruce Rosen
11:00-12:30 Lunch and Discussion: Imaging Reprise
1:00-5:00 Session 6: Applications
1:00-1:30 Presurgical Planning Brad Buchbinder
1:30-2:30 Visual System Roger Tootell
Discussion
3:00-5:00 Wine, Cheese, Posters, Computers
6:30 Dinner in Atrium
8:00 Complete Design and Implementation of Experiments
Equipment Demonstrations
SATURDAY October 21
8:00-5:00 Experiments; Data Analysis; Summary of Results; Discussion
Thomas J. Brady, M.D. Director, MGH-NMR Center
Bruce R. Rosen, M.D., Ph.D. Director, Center for Functional Neuroimaging
Robert L. Savoy, Ph.D. Director, fMRI Education
Gerald Aaronson, Ph.D. Director, NMR Development
Registration Form
Course fee of $1000 for the 4 day program, payable to MGH Visiting Fellowship
Program, must accompany registration and is refundable up to 30 days prior to
the session. Information on accommodations and activities in the Boston area
will be forwarded upon receipt of registration. A reduced rate of $600 is
available for graduate students with letter of verification from Department
Chairman.
Enrollment will be limited to 23 participants. Please include an informal
statement describing your background (clinical, research, industrial, other),
your experience with MR imaging, and your experience with functional
neuroimaging. This biosketch is used to help the faculty plan the course and
is normally distributed to the other course attendees, as well. It should be
no more than 2 paragraphs in length.
Please E-mail the completed registration form and your background data and
mail your tuition to:
Dr. Gerald Aaronson
Director, NMR Development
MGH NMR Center
Building 149- 13th Street (2301)
Charlestown, MA 02129
Phone:(617) 726-5812
Fax:(617) 726-7422
E-mail:fmrivfp@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu
Name______________________________________________________________________
Affiliation_______________________________________________________________
Address___________________________________________________________________
City_________________________
Phone_____________________ FAX___________________
E-mail____________________________________________________________________
Preferred Date: _______February 14-17, 1996
_______June 12-15, 1996
_______October 16-19, 1996
* * * PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR TWO PARAGRAPH BIOSKETCH * * *