[BIC-announce] FW: Killam Lecture - May 24 - Analyzing Brain Changes in Alzheimer's Disease, Development and Schizophrenia

[Jennifer Chew, Ms.]

 PLEASE DISCARD IF THIS IS A DUPLICATE.  ABSTRACT BELOW.  THANK YOU.
JENNIFER

 *****REMINDER*****

KILLAM LECTURE TODAY

Speaker:  Paul Thompson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology
UCLA School of Medicine

Title:  Analyzing Brain Changes in Alzheimer's Disease, Development and
Schizophrenia

Time:  4:00 pm

Place:  de Grandpre Communications Centre
----------------------------------------------


Analyzing Brain Changes in Alzheimer's Disease, Development and
Schizophrenia

 
Paul Thompson, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Neurology

Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Brain Mapping Division, and Biomedical
Engineering IDP

UCLA School of Medicine

University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1769 USA

thompson@loni.ucla.edu

http://www.loni.ucla.edu/~thompson/thompson.html

 


ABSTRACT


 

Drawing on large image databases (including 3D brain MRI and PET scans),
powerful computer algorithms can now analyze information on variations
in brain structure and function in thousands of human subjects. We
review 10 years of work applying these techniques to understand how the
brain changes over the human lifespan, during childhood development, and
in a variety of diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders. Mathematical
algorithms are shown that measure and map growth patterns in the brains
of normally and abnormally developing children [1,2]. We also track
Alzheimer's disease as it spreads in the living brain [3], and map
dynamically changing deficits in schizophrenia [4], HIV/AIDS, and in
drug users [5]. These engineering methods provide exceptional power for
understanding how the brain varies in health and disease, and how well
disease progression is resisted in clinical trials of anti-dementia and
anti-psychotic drugs. Finally, we describe a brain mapping method we
developed to identify genetic influences on human brain structure [6].
This genetic analysis of neuroanatomical variation is shedding light on
the nature/nurture debate, revealing the degree to which brain function
is genetically and environmentally influenced, and its relation to
heritable aspects of cognition and behaviour [7].

 

[1] Thompson PM et al. (2000). Growth Patterns in the Developing Brain
Detected By Using Continuum-Mechanical Tensor Maps, Nature, 404:(6774)
190-193.

[2] Gogtay N, Giedd JN, Lusk L, Hayashi KM, Greenstein D, Vaitiuzis C,
Nugent TF, Herman DH, Classen L, Toga AW, Rapoport JL, Thompson PM
(2004). Dynamic Mapping of Human Cortical Development During Childhood
and Adolescence, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2004.

[3] Thompson PM et al. (2003). Dynamics of Gray Matter Loss in
Alzheimer's Disease, Journal of Neuroscience, 23(3):994-1005.

[4] Thompson PM et al. (2001). Mapping Adolescent Brain Change Reveals
Dynamic Wave of Accelerated Gray Matter Loss in Very Early-Onset
Schizophrenia, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
98(20):11650-11655.

[5]. Thompson PM et al. (2004). Structural Abnormalities in the Brains
of Human Subjects who use Methamphetamine, Journal of Neuroscience, Feb.
2004. <http://www.loni.ucla.edu/~thompson/SFN2003/SFNma2003.htm> 

[6] Thompson PM et al. (2001). Genetic Influences on Brain Structure,
Nature Neuroscience 4(12):1253-8. 

[7]. Gray JR, Thompson PM (2004). Neurobiology of Intelligence: Science
and Ethics, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Jun;5(6):471-82.

....