New insights into understanding of neurological disorders

Jun 8 2011

Increasingly sophisticated imaging tools and techniques are emerging that make it possible to probe the organization and activity of the brain at the cellular and molecular level, leading to a better understanding of the complex networks that link brain structure and function. These groundbreaking discoveries and research advances are contributing to new insights into brain function throughout development and adult life, in health and disease. Brain Connectivity, the newly launched bimonthly journal of record for brain science, published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com) documents these exciting discoveries. The first issue and a full description of the Journal and its editorial leadership are available online at www.liebertpub.com/brain

This compelling journal will explore the new frontiers in brain research that lie at the interface of brain physiology and brain function and will serve as a comprehensive resource for the latest research developments, clinical implications, and expert perspectives on all aspects of brain connectivity. Brain Connectivity covers all facets of the interactions between brain structures and the communication networks that control the central nervous system and explains how these affect intentional and spontaneous brain activity in healthy individuals compared to those with neurological disorders.

The premier issue of Brain Connectivity includes an editorial (http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/brain.2011.0020) conveying the excitement and promise of the field by Co-Editors-in-Chief Christopher Pawela, PhD, assistant professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and Bharat Biswal, PhD, associate professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and features a range of informative and probing articles on evolving imaging technologies that allow researchers to study the structural and physiological connections between brain regions, and healthy and disease states.

An insightful review article by Marcus Raichle, Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, MO), called "The Restless Brain," presents a detailed look at the results derived from modern brain imaging techniques used to study the relationship between spontaneous brain activity and conscious brain function and to understand the integration of major brain systems during a task compared to when the brain is at rest.

An article by Andrzej Jesmanowicz, Andrew Nencka, Shi-Jiang Li, and James Hyde (Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee), introduces an improved method for accelerating the acquisition of multislice MRI brain connectome data. This article, in the new field of simultaneous multislice functional brain imaging, describes a method for acquiring images of an increased number of brain slices in a short time to shorten the total examination time for clinical fMRI and fcMRI. It also represents an exciting advance in basic neuroscience, as simultaneously acquired brain slices would allow researchers to study the relative timing of brain activities, a subject of intense interest in the neuroscience field.

Source: Brain Connectivity