Simultaneous Imaging of Brain and Spinal Cord Circuits in humans
Acquired injuries and movement disorders frequently affect the central nervous system at multiple levels, impacting both the brain and spinal cord. Although significant progress has been made in human brain functional neuroimaging, technical limitations have made imaging spinal cord circuits a major challenge. Moreover, the conventional approach of scanning the brain and spinal cord separately has limited our ability to study their functional interactions. Recent advancements—including the development of simultaneous spinal cord-brain fMRI techniques in my lab and others—offer a promising solution. In this talk, I will discuss the technical challenges of spinal cord neuroimaging, present findings that demonstrate the feasibility and utility of simultaneous fMRI for probing brain-spinal cord circuits in both task-based and resting-state conditions, and highlight key directions for future research to further advance the field.