The Department of Biomedical Informatics
presents
Dr. Linda J. Larson-Prior PhD
Dr. Larson-Prior directs the Electrical and Optical Neuroimaging Laboratory, a member of the Neuroimaging Laboratory of the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology and Washington University of St. Louis Medical School. Her laboratory is interested in better understanding the dynamic neural network re-configurations that occur as the brain changes its state under both normal conditions such as sleep, and in abnormal conditions such as induced shifts in conscious awareness (anesthesia) or pathological shifts in cognitive awareness (fluctuating consciousness, sleep parasomnias and neurodegenerative disease states). We have developed the use of simultaneous acquisition of electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to help us better understand these shifts in network connectivity and function as the brain shifts state over the course of 24 hours. We have extended our neuroimaging (fMRI) data to examine changes in functional brain network connectivity with neural state using graph theoretical techniques. The laboratory has extensive collaborations with other research teams interested in the use of functional network methods in EEG, MEG, fMRI and EEG/fMRI to examine brain dynamics in both health and disease. As part of the Human Connectome Project, her laboratory is working with a large international team to define the time-varying connection patterns in normal adult human subjects.
“The promise of sleep in health and disease”
Tuesday June 2, 2015 11:00am-12:00pm
Pharmacology Seminar Room
Basic Science Tower, Level 8, Rm. 180
Abstract:
Sleep is a behavioral and physiological state that alternates normally with waking. An increasing body of evidence points to the importance of sleep in both physical and mental health, with chronic sleep restriction implicated in the development of poor health and increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Control of the sleep/wake cycle resides in the brain and is dependent on a widespread brain network that closely interacts with numerous brain regions that function in system homeostasis, motor and cognitive function, and autonomic regulation. Thus, to fully understand the impact of sleep on both health and disease will require advances in knowledge of the complex, dynamic interactions between brain networks controlling or modulating sleep states and those controlling waking state function. One promising avenue of investigation towards this goal lies in neuroimaging methods by which these networks and their interactions can be evaluated in human subjects.
Contact the Department of Biomedical Informatics at (631) 444-8459 with any questions regarding this event.