Functional MRI and the dynamics of brain function

Gary H. Glover
Professor of Radiology, Biophysics, Neurosciences and Psychology & EE by courtesy
Director, Radiological Sciences Laboratory
Department of Radiology
Stanford University

Abstract - Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) develops image contrast in brain tissue from up-regulated cerebral metabolism that is based on a localized decrease in paramagnetic deoxyhemoglobin and a concomitant regional increase in vascular perfusion. Since its development in 1990, fMRI has been employed in thousands of studies of the brain’s neural circuitry to elucidate areas involved in many cognitive processes. Some 15 years ago, fMRI was used to demonstrate that the brain exhibits networks of connected nodes even when no cognitive task is performed (the “resting state”), and more recently that these networks can both up- and down-regulate in response to cognitive demands from task performance elsewhere in the brain.  Very recently, our group showed that these networks are far from static and has developed methods to elucidate their spatio-temporal characteristics using, e.g., wavelet coherence.  In this talk, I will first discuss fMRI and mitigation of some of the challenges of the technique such as signal dropout and physiological noise, and show studies of the dynamic interplay between resting state networks.

Bio - Dr. Glover received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1969 studying semiconductor magnetoplasma phenomena. He joined GE’s Corporate Research & Development Labs and worked on solid state devices, computed ultrasound tomography and X-ray computed tomography until 1977, when he moved to GE’s Medical Systems in Milwaukee to help transition the CT technology. In 1980 he began the development of MRI as one of a team of five, and was thus instrumental in defining both the CT and MR products for GE. He joined Stanford’s Radiology Department in 1990 and founded the Radiological Sciences Laboratory, presently comprised of 9 faculty and more than 70 students, fellows and staff engaged in a broad spectrum of diagnostic imaging development.

Dr. Glover's current field of research is in MRI physics in general, and specifically in the development and application of functional MRI (fMRI) methods, primarily for neuroscience applications but also in breast cancer imaging. His students' recent contributions include optimized techniques for acquisition and analysis of fMRI data, characterization of the dynamics of brain networks, and development of real-time fMRI biofeedback methods.

He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineering (AIMBE) as well as the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), for which he is also Past President. He holds a number of other awards including RSNA’s Outstanding Researcher Award and ISMRM’s Gold Medal. He has authored some 50 patents and published more than 300 papers on his research.