Research Groups > Experimental and Clinical NeuroscienceCognitive Neuroimaging

We use a wide range of techniques: functional MRI, positron emission tomography (PET), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), magentoencephalography (MEG), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

The Group's main focus is to understand how the brain is affected in a variety of patient populations. We are currently working with patients with aphasia, Alzheimer's dementia and traumatic brain injury. We aim to identify neural networks that are involved in various neurocognitive processes. It is essential to understand these networks in the healthy brain in order to understand how damage affects cognition and how it is possible to rehabilitate these events in patients with these pathological conditions.

Figure 1. Demonstration of activity in separate auditory regions for processing phonetic information (red), speech intelligibility (yellow), and voice pitch and intonation (white). a, left hemisphere. b, right hemisphere.

For example, disorders of communication are common after stroke, but there is usually partial ‚ if unpredictable  improvement with time. How patients recover over months, and how much can be achieved with behavioural and drug therapy, remain matters of speculation.

We are particularly interested in reorganisation in remote regions of the brain, undamaged by the injury to the brain and atrophy, that are responsible for attention and higher order executive functions. We are also investigating how executive processes can be manipulated by behavioural and drug therapies to achieve better rehabilitation of patients. For example, directly observing the functional changes in the brain that are responsible for recovery also supports disciplines such as speech therapy by providing greater insight into the biological consequences of empirically-based therapeutic practices.

If you are interested in volunteering to be part of any of these areas of research please contact shazi.singh@csc.mrc.ac.uk