Discoveries

Research from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL has helped to establish that brain function is not just isolated in single regions but involves coordinated activity integrated across many. The advent of brain imaging has made it possible to measure these interactions in close to real time.

Studies have also demonstrated that the process of learning triggers changes in how different regions interact. Centre researchers have shown the plasticity of the adult human brain, and that this plasticity is realised not just through changes in neural activity, but through physical changes in brain morphology. Professor Eleanor Maguire's studies of London taxi drivers, for example, implies that their knowledge of London streets and routes is associated with an enlarged hippocampus.

The Centre has developed a strong underpinning methodology that has revolutionised neuroimaging analysis. Statistical Parametric Mapping uses advanced mathematical techniques to characterise brain organisation. The software creates models of how the brain is wired and how it responds in different situations. These models are then used to interpret measured brain responses using brain imaging and electromagnetic brain signals. It provides an underlying philosophy for studying the brain that may well approximate how the organ itself actually works.

Example publications

• den Ouden HE et al. Striatal prediction error modulates cortical coupling. J Neurosci 2010;30(9):3210-9.
• Richardson M et al. Memory fMRI in left hippocampal sclerosis: optimizing the approach to predicting postsurgical memory. Neurology 2006;66(5):699-705.
• Chadwick MJ et al. Decoding individual episodic memory traces in the human hippocampus. Curr Biol 2010;20(6):544-7.
• Pleger B et al. Influence of dopaminergically mediated reward on somatosensory decision making. PLoS Biol 2009:7(7):e1000164.
• Carreiras M et al. An anatomical signature for literacy. Nature 2009;461(7266):983-6.
• Cashdollar N et al. Hippocampus-dependent and -independent theta-networks of active maintenance. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2009;106(48):20493-8.
• Daw ND et al. Cortical substrates for exploratory decisions in humans. Nature 2006;441(7095):876-9.
• Schofield TM et al. Changing meaning causes coupling changes within higher levels of the cortical hierarchy. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2009;106(28):11765-70.
• Friston K. Functional integration and inference in the brain. Prog Neurobiol 2002;68(2):113-43.
• Giraud AL et al. Cross-modal plasticity underpins language recovery after cochlear implantation. Neuron 2001;30(3):657-63.