Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre
Research Area: Brain Imaging
Brain imaging research at the University of Aberdeen focuses on structural, functional and metabolic correlates of normal and abnormal brain development, common disease states and brain ageing. Our programmes of research use some of the following brain imaging techniques:
- Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (sMRI)
- Functional MRI (fMRI),
- Metabolic imaging techniques such as regional cerebral blood flow single photon emission computed tomography (rCBF SPECT); dopamine transporter SPECT; fluorodeoxy glucose positron emission tomography (18FDG PET) and amino acid PET tracers (such as 11C methionine).
- Analytic techniques employed include SPM, VBM, and structural equation modelling.
The brain imaging group in Aberdeen is an active participant in SINAPSE (Scottish Imaging Network: A Platform for Scientific Excellence).
The Ageing Brain:
We have investigated the clinical significance of brain cortical atrophy and white matter lesions detected by MRI in a well-characterised cohort of old people, born in 1921, all of whom sat the same intelligence test aged 11 years (PI Professor Lawrence Whalley funded by the Chief Scientist office, Grampian NHS R&D and Miller McKenzie Trust in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh). Some of our analyses has shown that
- Childhood intelligence predicts about half of old age ability,
- White matter changes correlate with fluid intelligence.
- Volumetric analyses demonstrated that retention of cognitive ability in old age is associated with education and occupational complexity, but not original brain size.
We are also investigating the anatomical and functional brain correlates of cognitive ageing and their relationships to progression to Alzheimer's disease in a well-characterised cohort of old people, born in 1936, all of whom sat the same intelligence test aged 11 years (PI Professor Lawrence Whalley, funded by Alzheimer's Research Trust, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh). On going analysis has shown that:
Total n–3 PUFA and docosohexaenoic acid concentrations were associated with benefits for cognition at {approx}64 y old and from {approx}64 to {approx}68 y old. [American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2008; 87:449-454].- Cognitive sustainers showed a pattern of BOLD activation–deactivation that was similar to a healthy young sample where as the group of cognitive decliners lacked these clear neural networks. [NeuroImage 2008, Intelligence 2009].
We recently completed a multicentre Phase II clinical trial of a novel disease-modifying drug in Alzheimer's disease (AD) “rember© ” which was based at the University of Aberdeen and included data collection from a number of international centres (PI Professor Claude Wischik, local investigator Dr Donald Mowat, funded by Tau Therapeutics).
The Developing Brain
We have investigated imitation in autism and normal volunteers using functional MRI (PI Dr Justin Williams funded by Chief Scientist Office and the National Alliance for Autism Research, in collaboration with the University of St Andrews). We found:
- In our ASD group activity, attributable to mirror neurons in areas of the right parietal lobe, was less extensive than in the autism group and was absent during non-imitative action execution [Neuropsychologia, 2006;44,4, 610-621].
- In the same group we found extensive brain grey and white matter volume differences. [NeuroImage, 2004;22:619-625, NeuroImage, 2005:24;455-461
We have also investigated the influence of joint attention. Joint attention was associated with activity in:
- Ventromedial frontal cortex
- Left superior frontal gyrus (BA10), Cingulate cortex, and caudate nuclei.
The ventromedial frontal cortex has been consistently shown to be activated during mental state attribution tasks. BA10 may serve a cognitive integration function, which in this case seems to utilize a perception–action matching process. The activation we identified in BA10 overlaps with a location of increased grey matter density that we recently found to be associated with autistic spectrum disorder.
Some of our other work has included the following:
- Parkinson's incidence in the North-East (PINE) study, principal investigator Dr Carl Counsell, funded by the British Medical Association and Grampian NHS R&D. Participants and age and sex matched controls have undergone functional imaging using with the dopamine transporter agent 123I FP-CIT and with the dopamine 2 receptor agent 123I IBZM, in addition to structural brain MRI.
- Sequential magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain development in intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) and normal fetuses, principal investigator Dr Katrin Brauer, funded by Tenovus Scotland.
- Co-ordinated investigation into the possible long term health effects of diving at work: The ELTHI diving study, principal investigator Dr John Ross funded by Health and Safety Executive. [HSE Books, Research Report 230, ISBN 0717628485].
- Effects of antidepressant drugs on brain activation with fMRI, principal investigator Dr Douglas Steele. This study is exploring the hypothesis that depression is associated with abnormal predictive error signals and hence dysfunction in associative learning.
- Functional and structural brain imaging in chronic pain, principal investigator Professor Gary MacFarlane, funded by Grampian NHS R&D. This study aims to investigate neuropsychological, pain threshold, endocrine and fMRI differences between normal participants, those at risk of chronic pain and those with chronic pain. This work involves collaboration with the Aberdeen Pain Research Collaboration APRC.