Yale Developmental Neuroimaging Program

Introduction

• The Developmental Neuroimaging Program (DNP) is a newly launched initiative designed to foster collaborative science on the development of the brain, and brain-based neuropsychiatric disorders.  The program is co-directed by Robert T. Schultz, PhD, of the Child Study Center and Lawrence Staib, PhD, of Diagnostic Radiology, and it includes multiple adjunct faculty throughout the University.  The Program cuts across existing laboratories within the University and brings together faculty with complementary areas of expertise in order to provide an arena for collaborative research and training in neuroscience.
• A primary goal of the DNP is to initiate and support research on normal and abnormal brain development, using both humans and animals.  This is accomplished through consultative services on technical aspects of study design, and by providing core laboratory support for data analyses.  We have established the Developmental Neuroimaging Laboratory (the DNP Lab) in space at the Child Study Center (IE 73).  This lab serves as a staging ground for translating methodological developments in neuroimaging analyses by basic scientists to the neuroscience community.
• The Developmental Neuroimaging Laboratory is equipped with seven high powered workstations and numerous specialized software packages for analyzing MRI data, including BrainVoyager, Analyze, SPM99, AFNI, and specialized software developed by the DNP in collaboration with the Image Processing and Analysis Group.  Several full time personnel support the DNP Lab, including a BS level computer programmer, a postdoctoral fellow in computer science, an associate research scientist in medical image analyses, and a computer systems manager.
• This past year the DNP established successful research collaborations with faculty within the Child Study Center, the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Diagnostic Radiology. The DNP participated in three successfully funded grant applications, and one private foundation grant. The DNP currently has four additional grant applications under review.

Research Collaborations

• Examples of current DNP research collaborations include:
  • Structural and functional MRI studies of the brain bases of autism and related conditions (R. Schultz, Child Study Center)
  • Nonlinear Estimation and Modeling of fMRI (Y. Wang, Diagnostic Radiology)
  • Plasticity of ventral temporal cortices within autism spectrum disorders (R. Schultz, Child Study Center)
  • Development of diffusion tensor imaging methodologies (L. Staib, Diagnostic Radiology)
  • Studies of brain sequelae of childhood abuse and trauma (J. Kaufman, Psychiatry)
  • Developmental signs of prodromal schizophrenia (D. Mathalon, Psychiatry)
  • Visualization and analysis tools for structural and functional MR imaging (X. Papademetris, Diagnostic Radiology)
  • Temporal lobe morphology in persons with continuous hallucinations and schizophrenia (R. Hoffman, Psychiatry)
  • Electrophysiological indices of face processing and perceptual expertise in autism (J. McPartland, Child Study Center)
• Another major goal of the DNP is to facilitate the work of trainees and to interface with existing postdoctoral training programs within the  University. The DNP is a co-sponsor of the Neuroimaging Science Training Program, and has been a co-sponsor of the fMRI weekly lecture series. Duing the past year, the DNP has supported the work of several students, trainees and visiting scholars:
  • The role of the caudate nucleus in repetitive and stereotyped behaviors (L. Propper, Visiting Fulbright Scholar)
  • fMRI studies of savant calendar calculation skills (M. Thioux, Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale Child Study Center)
  • Feature level and holistic processing in the ventral temporal pathway (R. Vegafi, Yale Medical Thesis project)
  • Subcortical pathways of fear perception (B. Pasley, Child Study Center and NYU graduate student)
  • Implicit perception of face familiarity (J. Horowitz, Yale Undergraduate, Department of Psychology)
  • Diffusion Tensor Imaging of brain fiber pathways (M. Jackowski, Postdoctoral Fellow, Diagnostic Radiology and Child Study Center)
  • fMRI studies of maternal perception of cries and the face of their own infant (J. Swain, Postdoctoral Fellow, Child Study Center)
  • fMRI studies of cross modal perception in autism (D. Robins, Postdoctoral Fellow, Child Study Center)
  • Brain morphology in Williams syndrome (A. Jackowski, Postdoctoral Fellow, Child Study Center and Diagnostic Radiology)
  • MRI studies of Prader Willi syndrome (A. Dimotropoulos, Postdoctoral Fellow, Child Study Center)

Codirectors

• Bob Schultz
• Larry Staib

Postdoc

• Marcel Jackowski (Postoctoral Fellow)
• Yongmei Wang (Associate Research Scientist)

Affiliated Faculty

• Todd Constable
• James Duncan
• Ralph Hoffman
• Joan Kaufman
• James Leckman
• Dan Mathalon
• Linda Mayes
• James McPartland
• Doug Rothman
• Flora Vaccarino

Seminar Series (co-sponsored by Yale NMR Research)

• Yale FMRI Seminar Series