Biomedical subjects

Xiaoping Hu

Publications and source records attributed to Xiaoping Hu.

47 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Sustained negative BOLD, blood flow and oxygen consumption response and its coupling to the positive response in the human brain.

Most fMRI studies are based on the detection of a positive BOLD response (PBR). Here, we demonstrate and characterize a robust sustained negative BOLD response (NBR) in the human occipital cortex, triggered by stimulating part of the visual field. The NBR was spatially adjacent to but segregated from the PBR. It depended on the stimulus and thus on the pattern of neuronal activity. The time courses of the NBR and PBR were similar, and their amplitudes covaried both with increasing stimulus duration and increasing stimulus contrast. The NBR was associated with reductions in blood flow and with decreases in oxygen consumption. Our findings support the contribution to the NBR of (1) a significant component of reduction in neuronal activity and (2) possibly a component of hemodynamic changes independent of the local changes in neuronal activity.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Correction of physiologically induced global off-resonance effects in dynamic echo-planar and spiral functional imaging.

In functional magnetic resonance imaging, a rapid method such as echo-planar (EPI) or spiral is used to collect a dynamic series of images. These techniques are sensitive to changes in resonance frequency which can arise from respiration and are more significant at high magnetic fields. To decrease the noise from respiration-induced phase and frequency fluctuations, a simple correction of the "dynamic off-resonance in k-space" (DORK) was developed. The correction uses phase information from the center of k-space and a navigator echo and is illustrated with dynamic scans of single-shot and segmented EPI and, for the first time, spiral imaging of the human brain at 7 T. Image noise in the respiratory spectrum was measured with an edge operator. The DORK correction significantly reduced respiration-induced noise (image shift for EPI, blurring for spiral, ghosting for segmented acquisition). While spiral imaging was found to exhibit less noise than EPI before correction, the residual noise after the DORK correction was comparable. The correction is simple to apply and can correct for other sources of frequency drift and fluctuations in dynamic imaging.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Respiration-induced B0 fluctuations and their spatial distribution in the human brain at 7 Tesla.

In functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), it is known that physiological influences such as cardiac pulsation, respiration, and brain motion can induce fluctuations in signal intensity and phase. Some of the mechanisms potentially involved in those phenomena are expected to be amplified at higher magnetic fields. This study addresses the issue of B(0) fluctuations induced by susceptibility changes during respiration attributed to movements of chest and diaphragm, and variations in the oxygen concentration. It is demonstrated that respiration-induced resonance offsets (RIROs) are significant at 7T. Data were acquired with an RF pulse (no gradients), multislice echo-planar imaging (EPI), and dynamic 3D fast low-angle shot (3D- FLASH) imaging. Three main observations summarize the experimental findings. First, in FIDs measured after a single RF pulse, a RIRO with a large amplitude was consistently detected, although the average amplitude varied between subjects from 1.45 Hz to 4 Hz. Second, in transverse EPI images obtained in the occipital lobe, the RIRO amplitude showed a monotonic increase along the z axis toward the lungs. Third, a more detailed spatial analysis with 3D-FLASH phase maps revealed that a previously published analytical model can accurately describe the spatial distribution of RIRO. Consequential apparent motions in the EPI series, as well as the implications of slice orientation for correction strategies are discussed.

Brain↗

PubMed2002

Perfusion-based high-resolution functional imaging in the human brain at 7 Tesla.

Perfusion-based MRI measures cerebral blood flow (CBF) at the capillary level and can be used for functional studies based on the tight spatial coupling between brain activity and blood flow. Obtaining functional CBF maps with high spatial resolution is a major challenge because the CBF signal is intrinsically low and the SNR is critical. In the present work, CBF-based functional imaging was performed at a considerably smaller voxel size than previously reported in humans. High-resolution CBF maps were obtained with voxel sizes as small as 0.9 x 0.9 x 1.5 mm(3) in the human brain. High sensitivity was made possible by signal-to-noise gains at the high magnetic field of 7 T and by using a novel RF combination coil design. In addition, a reduction of the field-of-view was critical to achieve 0.9-mm in-plane resolution with gradient-echo echo-planar imaging in a single shot. Functional CBF data were compared with functional BOLD data to reveal that, for CBF, large contrast- to-noise gains were obtained at high spatial resolution, indicating that the functional CBF response was more localized. High-resolution functional CBF imaging is significant for neuroscience research because it provides better localization and more specific information than BOLD for monitoring brain function.

Cerebrovascular Circulation↗

PubMed2002

High-resolution, spin-echo BOLD, and CBF fMRI at 4 and 7 T.

With growing interest in noninvasive mapping of columnar organization and other small functional structures in the brain, achieving high spatial resolution and specificity in fMRI is of critical importance. We implemented a simple method for BOLD and perfusion fMRI with high spatial resolution and specificity. Increased spatial resolution was achieved by selectively exciting a slab of interest along the phase-encoding direction for EPI, resulting in a reduced FOV and number of phase-encoding steps. Improved spatial specificity was achieved by using SE EPI acquisition at high fields, where it is predominantly sensitive to signal changes in the microvasculature. Robust SE BOLD and perfusion fMRI were obtained with a nominal in-plane resolution up to 0.5 x 0.5 mm(2) at 7 and 4 Tesla, and were highly reproducible under repeated measures. This methodology enables high-resolution and high-specificity studies of functional topography in the millimeter to submillimeter spatial scales of the human brain.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Zoomed functional imaging in the human brain at 7 Tesla with simultaneous high spatial and high temporal resolution.

Functional neuroimaging in the human brain using noninvasive magnetic resonance methods has the potential of providing highly resolved maps of neuronal activation. Decreasing the voxel size and obtaining simultaneously high temporal resolution is a major challenge and is mainly limited by sensitivity. Here, signal-to-noise gains at high magnetic fields (7 Tesla) and an optimized surface coil setup are combined with a novel approach for zoomed functional imaging in the visual cortex. For echoplanar imaging, the acquisition time and segmentation was shortened fourfold by using a reduced field-of-view. An adiabatic outer-volume suppression method, BISTRO, was used to obliterate signal outside the area-of-interest achieving effective suppression even for inhomogeneous B1-fields. A single-shot acquisition was performed at submillimeter resolution in the human brain, while simultaneously maintaining a high temporal resolution of 125 ms. Functional studies with and without field-of-view reduction were performed. Activation and percent change maps were compared with respect to spatial extent, t values and percentage changes of the BOLD contrast. The detection of functional activation was found to be equal within the inter-series variability for the two acquisition schemes. Thus, single-trial BOLD responses were detected for the first time robustly at a 500 x 500 microm2 in plane and 250 ms temporal resolution, significantly expanding the possibilities of event-related functional imaging in the human brain. The magnetization transfer effect induced by the outer-volume suppression pulses was investigated and found to be increased during neuronal activity.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2002

Truncation artifact reduction in spectroscopic imaging using a dual-density spiral k-space trajectory.

Truncation artifacts arise in magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) of the human brain due to limited coverage of k-space necessitated by low SNR of metabolite signal and limited scanning time. In proton MRSI of the head, intense extra-cranial lipid signals "bleed" into brain regions, thereby contaminating signals of metabolites therein. This work presents a data acquisition strategy for reducing truncation artifact based on extended k-space coverage achieved with a dual-SNR strategy. Using the fact that the SNR in k-space increases monotonically with sampling density, dual-SNR is achieved in an efficient manner with a dual-density spiral k-space trajectory that permits a smooth transition from high density to low density. The technique is demonstrated to be effective in reducing "bleeding" of extra-cranial lipid signals while preserving the SNR of metabolites in the brain.

Artifacts↗

PubMed2002

Node merging in Kohonen's self-organizing mapping of fMRI data.

In this paper, Kohonen's self-organizing mapping (SOM) is used as a data-driven technique for analyzing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Upon the completion of an SOM analysis, a cluster merging technique, based on examining the reproducibility of the fMRI data across epochs, is utilized to merge SOM nodes whose feature vectors are sufficiently similar to one another. The resulting 'super nodes' give time course templates of potential interest. These templates can be subsequently used in traditional template-based analysis methods, such as cross-correlation analysis, yielding statistical maps and activation patterns. This technique has been demonstrated on two fMRI datasets obtained from a visually-guided motor paradigm and a visual paradigm, respectively, showing satisfactory results.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2002

Human hippocampal activation in the delayed matching- and nonmatching-to-sample memory tasks: an event-related functional MRI approach.

The delayed matching-to-sample (DMS) and delayed nonmatching-to-sample (DNMS) memory tasks are standard tools used to probe visual recognition memory in human and nonhuman primates. Previous research indicates that structures within the medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus, make up a crucial memory circuit for successful performance on these tasks. In the present investigation, event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine activation in the hippocampus proper during these memory tasks relative to a perceptuomotor task involving the same stimuli. The results indicate that both memory tasks elicited greater activation in the right hippocampus during the encoding phase. These findings are consistent with the work from human patients and animal studies, indicating hippocampal involvement in the DMS and DNMS tasks.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

[Clinical observation of transcatheter uterine artery embolization for uterine myoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficiency and safety of transcatheter uterine artery embolization (TUAE) for uterine myomas. METHODS: Thirty-eight cases of uterine myomas were treated by TUAE using lipiodol-pingyangmycin emulsion. 5 of 38 cases underwent hysterectomy or myomectomy from 1 to 3 weeks after TUAE. The specimens were studied pathologically. Thirty-three of 38 patients were followed for 3 to 6 months to observe the changes of myoma size and uterine volume and overian function. RESULTS: Symptom released in 90.6% (29/32), that was controlled of menorrhagia in 90.3% (28/31), disappeared of lumbago and lower abdominal pain in 83.3% (25/30), relieved of freguency and urgency of micturition in 45.5% (5/11). The mean reduction of myoma and uterine volume at 6 months was 59.1% and 49.3%, respectively, and at 12 months was 61.8% and 49.9% respectively. There was no significant difference in hormone level pre-embolization and post-embolization. Pathological studies of specimens showed that lipiodol deposition was found in myomas but not in myometrium. Myomas occurred spotty necrosis 2 weeks after embolization and extensive patchy necrosis 3 weeks after embolization. Degeneration or necrosis were not seen in myometrium. CONCLUSIONS: TUAE possesses a good effect for uterine myomas and doesn't result in the damage of ovarian hormone secretion and the myometrium.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Cluster significance testing using the bootstrap.

Many of the statistical methods currently employed to analyze fMRI data depend on a response template. However, the true form of the hemodynamic response, and thereby the response template, is often unknown. Consequently, cluster analysis provides a complementary, template-free method for exploratory analysis of multidimensional fMRI data sets. Clustering algorithms currently being applied to fMRI data separate the data into a predefined number of clusters (k). A poor choice of k will result in erroneously partitioning well-defined clusters. Although several clustering algorithms have been successfully applied to fMRI data, techniques for statistically testing cluster separation are still lacking. To address this problem we suggest a method based on Fisher's linear discriminant and the bootstrap. Also introduced in this paper is a measure based on the projection of multidimensional data from two clusters onto the vector, maximizing the ratio of the between- to the within-cluster sums of squares. The resulting one-dimensional distribution may be readily visualized and used as a heuristic for estimating cluster homogeneity. These methods are demonstrated for the self-organizing maps clustering algorithm when applied to event-related fMRI data.

Algorithms↗