Neuroscience 222: Brain Imaging and Brain Stimulation

Fall 2023


Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1pm-2:50pm


Neuroscience Research Building (NRB) 225


Faculty

Marco Iacoboniiacoboni@ucla.edu
Shantanu Joshi s.joshi@ucla.edu
David Shattuckdshattuck@g.ucla.edu

Course description and learning outcomes

You are probably aware that brain imaging and brain stimulation, especially in its noninvasive form, form large fields of the human systems and clinical neuroscience literature. There are many brain imaging and brain stimulation approaches currently available that have been also combined in many different ways. These are exciting and rapidly evolving topics. Together we will explore the variety of experimental approaches in the fields of brain imaging and brain stimulation, discussing their strengths and weaknesses. We will study the use of brain imaging in isolation or in combination with brain stimulation to better investigate and understand neural circuitry, systems and networks in health and disease. We will use critical thinking about the opportunities and limitations of the two fields, and how to overcome them by combining the two approaches for the investigation of brain systems and functions. The best way to take advantage of the opportunities this course offers is to be an active and thoughtful participant in all aspects of the course and try your best in all its components.

Lectures

Tuesday1pm-2:50pm
Thursday1pm-2:50pm

Course assignments

We will have weekly assigned readings relevant to each lecture to complete before the lecture so that we are all on the same page and can engage in lively interactions and discussions in class. You will be required to complete a hands-on research project for the class that will make use of computational methods for analyzing data from brain imaging and brain stimulation experiments, so that you will become more familiar with the scientific practices of the two fields and their underlying assumptions.

Student evaluation:

The course is divided into two main modules in which we will explore first the brain imaging literature and its methods, and then the brain stimulation literature, with its many forms and its many combinations with brain imaging. There will be two exams: one at the end of the Brain Imaging module and one at the end of the Brain Stimulation module. Each exam will be weighted 35% of the final grade. The exams are meant to show yourself and us what you have learned and what you still may want to learn to expand your understanding of the fields of brain imaging and brain stimulation. The research project will be weighted 20% of the final grade. Classroom participation will be account for 10% of the final grade.

Inclusive classroom interaction and environment

We envision engaging, exciting discussions in the classroom about the possibilities, promises and limitations of current brain imaging and brain stimulation approaches. We are committed to promoting an inclusive and supporting environment for class interaction and participation.

Course Website

The BruinLearn site for this course is https://bruinlearn.ucla.edu/courses/172459

Assigned Reading:

We will assign papers each week focused on the lecture topics. These will be added to this website once assigned.

Lectures

>a
Week Date Topic Instructor
028-Sep-2023Course Introduction Marco Iacoboni, MD PhD / Shantanu Joshi, PhD / David Shattuck, PhD
Neuroanatomy IAllan MacKenzie-Graham, PhD
103-Oct-2023Course Overview / Project Discussion Marco Iacoboni, MD PhD / Shantanu Joshi, PhD / David Shattuck, PhD
105-Oct-2023Neuroanatomy IIAllan MacKenzie-Graham, PhD
210-Oct-2023MR PhysicsRobert Welsh, PhD
212-Oct-2023MR PhysicsRobert Welsh, PhD
317-Oct-2023Structural MRIDavid Shattuck, PhD
319-Oct-2023Diffusion MRIDavid Shattuck, PhD
424-Oct-2023Functional MRI (fMRI)Martin Monti, PhD
426-Oct-2023Positron Emission tomography (PET)Roger Woods, MD
531-Oct-2023shape modeling/statistical analysisShantanu Joshi, PhD
502-Nov-2023Review Brain Imaging
607-Nov-2023Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) PhysiologyMarco Iacoboni, MD PhD
609-Nov-2023TMS MappingMarco Iacoboni, MD PhD
714-Nov-2023TMS ClinicalMarco Iacoboni, MD PhD
716-Nov-2023Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) & Head modeling/SimulationMayank Jog, PhD
821-Nov-2023Transcranial Ultrasound (tUS)Martin Monti, PhD
928-Nov-2023Deep Brain StimulationMartin Seeber, PhD
930-Nov-2023 Exam Review
1005-Dec-2023Project Presentations - Part 1
1007-Dec-2023Project Presentations - Part 2

Reading

Reading assignments will be updated as the course progresses.
  1. Neuroanatomy
  2. MR Physics
  3. Structural and Diffusion MRI
  4. Positron Emission Tomography & Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
    4a. fMRI 4b. PET
  5. Shape Analysis
  6. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) & Head Modeling/Simulation
  7. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
    7a. TMS Foundations, Physiology, and Circuitry 7b. TMS Perturbation and Mapping 8a. TMS Treatment and Safety
  8. 8b. Transcranial Ultrasound (tUS)
  9. Intracranial Electrophysiology and Deep Brain Stimulation