(BBSRC DTP) Mapping the structural and functional organisation of the human brain via in vivo neuroimaging and complex network analysis.

The performance of the wide range of cognitive tasks we carry out in our daily lives including remembering, speaking, deciding and planning depends upon the interaction of complex networks of widely distributed brain regions. In order to increase our understanding of how the brain performs these tasks, it is important to understand not only what brain regions are involved in the performance of a particular skill, but how these regions communicate with each other, that is, their connectivity. Network connectivity has recently been explored by two advanced techniques, one which examines the anatomical white matter pathways along which information flows (structural connectivity), and another which examines the brain regions which function together to perform components of a task (functional connectivity). However, how the different types of connectivity relate to each other is complex, and to fully understand how cognitive processes occur, an understanding of this relationship, and how the brain’s anatomical structure influences functioning is crucial. Importantly, this knowledge is not only essential in understanding normal performance, but also its change across the lifespan, and observed impairments in different neurological diseases.

In order to improve our understanding of the organization and function of normal and impaired brain networks, researchers have begun to model the brain using complex network analysis (CNA). CNA is a statistical approach which can be used to provide measures to characterise different properties of particular brain networks, such as the efficiency with which information can be communicated throughout the network, and how resilient the network is to damage. CNA has only recently been extended to the study of the brain as a complex network, and its applications in understanding the brain’s structural and functional organisation are just beginning to be explored.

The current project aims to use CNA to map and describe the organisation of the brain’s cognitive networks, and understand the relationship between behavioural performance and network architecture and functioning. In order to achieve this, CNA will be used to explore the relationship between structural and functional connectivity data, and their impact on behavioural performance. The project will utilise the wide range of behavioural and neuroimaging data available within the Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology. This includes a range of sophisticated imaging methodologies, including diffusion imaging (capable of identifying the brain’s structural connectivity), and functional MRI (capable of identifying functional connectivity), across a range of populations including both healthy individuals and those with a range of neurological impairment.

Lauren Cloutman: https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/lauren.cloutman.html
Anna Woollams: https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/anna.woollams.html

Entry Requirements:
Applications are invited from UK/EU nationals only. Applicants must have obtained, or be about to obtain, at least an upper second class honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject.