Physical Chemistry Seminar: Pushing the Limits of Ultra-High-Field Human MRI: Where Chemical Physics Meets Neuroscience

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Abstract:

Ultra-high-field (≥7T) human brain MRI now enables sub-millimeter resolution, opening new frontiers for exploring the human brain in unprecedented detail. Yet, several technical and methodological challenges remain before its full potential can be realized. As ultra-high-field MRI offers a unique playground where chemistry, physics, and biology interplay, my lab combines these disciplines to develop new MRI pulse sequences, design metamaterial-based devices to boost signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and apply these advances to fundamental neuroscience questions. In this talk, I will highlight two recent developments. First, I will present a thin and flexible metamaterial for human MRI, already used in our epilepsy studies to enhance the quality of quantitative MRI. Second, I will show how fast functional MRI acquisition strategies can improve signal quality in challenging regions such as the basal ganglia—areas rich in iron, characterized by fast magnetization relaxation and thus prone to rapid signal decay. Our approach enabled the detection of significant correlations between striatal subregion activity and motor performance at the individual level, offering new insights into learning processes.

Seminar Organizer: Prof. Ilia Kaminker