Measuring Alcohol and Stress Interactions with Structural and Perfusion MRI

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Measuring Alcohol and Stress Interactions with
Structural and Perfusion MRI

• Chris Wyatt
• External Collaboration

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Introduction

• Our goal is to use MRI to examine the effects of
  chronic alcohol self-administration on brain
  structure and function in a group of monkeys that
  have been mother-reared or nursery-reared.
• Jim Daunais (WFUHS PI)
• Bob Kraft (WFUHS MR Physicist)
• Chris Wyatt (VT Engineering)
• Killian Pohl (NA-MIC Core 1)

Macaca mulatta (rhesus)
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12.3
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Size comparison of human, rhesus, and cynomolgus
brain.
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NA-MIC Related Goal

• Implement and validate algorithms for
• brain extraction
• white-gray matter segmentation
• subcortical structure segmentation

Size comparison of human, rhesus, and cynomolgus
brain.
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Methods
Approximate Brain Extraction
Initial GM/WM/CSF Segmentation
Bias Correction
Deformable Registration of Priors
EM Segmenter in Slicer 2.x
Rhesus template and atlas graciously provided
by Martin Styner and collaborators
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Results Tutorial

• Slicer 2.x EM Segmenter tutorial similar to the
  existing one
• Uses template/atlas created from our data (N17)
• Subject image has been bias corrected and the
  priors registered
• http//bsl.ece.vt.edu/download/NHP-EMSTut.zip

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Results pre-post induction

• Comparison of alcohol naive and post-drinking
  induction (7 animals)

No significant change in GM/WM ratio
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Results Other ages/species

• Using data from similar projects we have also
  developed atlases for
• young rhesus macaque
• cynomolgus macaque
• Have applied EM Segmenter in Slicer 2.x as well.

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Future Vervet model

• The animals for this project were divided into
  multiple serial cohorts from a separate project.
• That project has switched to a vervet animal
  model.
• So we will begin again with a vervet model in
  March.

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Future Improved Imaging

• This gives us a chance to address some of the
  imaging issues.
• new custom coil
• much better uniformity
• optimized GM/WM contrast
• (CNR 7.5)

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Planned Products

• Acquisition of baseline vervet images for atlas
  development - March 08
• Vervet atlas completed - June 08
• Training and Induction 3-4 months
• ad-lib access for 12 months
• Final structural scans August 2009

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Acknowledgements

• NIH/NIAAA R01AA016748-01
• PI Jim Daunais WFUHS
• NIH/NIDA R01DA020648
• PI Linda Porrino WFUHS
• The lobar parcellation atlas was provided by the
  UNC Neuro Image Analysis Laboratory and the UWisc
  Harlow Primate Laboratory. The following grants
  are acknowledge for support UNC NDDRC HD 03110,
  NIH AI067518, National Alliance for Medical
  Image Computing U54 EB005149-01.