Connectivity Course: Structural and Functional Brain Connectivity via MRI and fMRI

October 23-27, 2023 In Person and Virtual    Issues associated with “connectivity” within the human brain are growing in importance. This can be seen in the significant number of abstracts, research articles and even entire journals devoted to this area, as well as in the increased emphasis on lesions in connections as a source of many neuro-psychiatric disorders. MRI has proven to be a valuable tool for examining connectivity both in terms of the coordinated activities of neural networks (using BOLD-based fMRI data collected during rest and during tasks) and in terms of the structural anatomy of white matter pathways of the brain (using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), Diffusion Spectrum Imaging (DSI) and Tractography to analyze and visualize the resulting data). In this program, participants will learn about the technical challenges in acquisition, data processing and visualization of brain networks via functional MRI data. They will also receive a firm grounding in the power and limitations of using diffusion-sensitive MRI to detect and organize the anatomical structure of white matter tracts in the living human brain.  There will be at least three lectures on state-of-the-art clinical/research applications. The primary goal of the program is to give researchers and clinicians a good “running start” for their investigations using these tools. In that sense, it serves a purpose analogous to that of the long-running Martinos Center’s Functional MRI Visiting Fellowship Program (fMRIVFP), with the exception that the domain will be structural and functional connectivity of myelinated fiber tracts within the living human brain. While various data analysis and software-related issues will be discussed, this is not a software training program.  The Martinos Center offers two programs to give thorough software training in each of the two main areas: functional analysis (via the “Learning the Conn Toolbox”, a 5-day course), and structural analysis (via the “Hands-On Diffusion MRI” course, a 4 or 5 day course (still being developed). The core faculty for the program is drawn from the staff of the Athinoula A. Martinos Center (of the Massachusetts General Hospital and Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and affiliated faculty from Harvard University, McLean Hospital, The Brigham and Womens Hospital, and other institutions. Guest lecturers in the past have included representatives of the NIH, the Child Mind Institute of New York and others.   Registration
Please include an informal statement describing your background (academic, clinical, research, industrial, other), your experience with functional neuroimaging, fMRI, and resting state connectivity analysis. This is also an opportunity to state what you most hope to get out of the program. This biosketch will be distributed to the faculty and to other course participants. It should be no more than two paragraphs in length. PLEASE: Make the biosketch informal. It is intended to introduce you to the other participants and staff, not to apply for a job.
Click or drag a file to this area to upload.
The fee for the program is $1500. A reduced rate of $1000 is available to graduate students with a letter of verification from their Department Chairman. NOTE: MD's and Phd's do not qualify for the graduate student rate and normally are expected to pay the full fee. However, if a post-doctoral applicant is paying out-of-pocket (rather than the more normal grant-funded or institutionally-funded payment) then a discounted rate of $1250 is available. Please contact us should special arrangements need to be made regarding payment. Course fees are refundable up to 30 days prior to the session minus a $50 fee. A $200 fee will be deducted, should you cancel and request a refund between 30 days and 21 days (3 weeks) prior to the program start. After that, the tuition can be applied to a future program, or can be 50% refunded.
If you are paying by credit card, you need to provide payment information below before hitting SUBMIT. If you are paying by an internal MGB fund number, add it in the field below.
Needs to also include the PI name on the fund
 

Connectivity Fall 2022

 

[learn_press_profile]