EMERGING TECHNIQUES How to combine neuroimaging measures: The effects of early blindness Ione Fine UW Psychology

Why combine neuroimaging measures? Most pathologies have a wide range of interrelated neural effects. A wide variety of non-invasive neuroimaging techniques are now available to examine structural organization of the brain, neural functioning and cognition/behavior. Only just beginning to develop methods for analyzing interrelationships between different modalities of neuroimaging data within individuals or across subject groups.

Early Blindness Deterioration of cortical visual abilities Increase in gray matter thickness Reduced GABA Widespread increased responses to auditory and tactile stimuli in occipital cortex Reductions in white matter Increased metabolic demand Reduced cortical folding in occipital cortex Increased choline, myoIns & creatine Better performance on tactile & auditory tasks

How do we link different neuroimaging measures? Correlations across individual subjects Associations over time Associated response to interventions Associated responses within the brain

Subject Mike May Blinded by a chemical accident at age 3. Light sensitive between ages 3-43 Sight restored in right eye by corneal epithelial stem cell replacement by Dr. Daniel Goodman (March 7th, 2000) Fine et. al, Nature Neuroscience, 2003

MM control ring (medial) (lateral)

Probabilistic Diffusion Tensor Imaging

MM control ring (medial)

Thank you!