The Veit Stuphorn Laboratory studies the neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie decision making and self-control. We record the activity of single neurons in awake animals that are engaged in decision-making processes. This allows us to identify the types of signals that neurons in specific parts of the brain represent and the computations they carry out. We also study human subjects in the same tasks with the help of fMRI. These parallel experiments provide comparative information about decision processes in human and non-human primates.

Research in the Vestibular NeuroEngineering Lab (VNEL) focuses on restoring inner ear function through “bionic” electrical stimulation, inner ear gene therapy, and enhancing the central nervous system’s ability to learn ways to use sensory input from a damaged inner ear. VNEL research involves basic and applied neurophysiology, biomedical engineering, clinical investigation and population-based epidemiologic studies. We employ techniques including single-unit electrophysiologic recording; histologic examination; 3-D video-oculography and magnetic scleral search coil measurements of eye movements; microCT; micro MRI; and finite element analysis. Our research subjects include computer models, circuits, animals and humans. For more information about VNEL, click here. VNEL is currently recruiting subjects for two first-in-human clinical trials: 1) The MVI Multichannel Vestibular Implant Trial involves implantation of a “bionic” inner ear stimulator intended to partially restore sensation of head movement. Without that sensation, the brain’s image- and posture-stabilizing reflexes fail, so affected individuals suffer difficulty with blurry vision, unsteady walking, chronic dizziness, mental fogginess and a high risk of falling. Based on designs developed and tested successfully in animals over the past the past 15 years at VNEL, the system used in this trial is very similar to a cochlear implant (in fact, future versions could include cochlear electrodes for use in patients who also have hearing loss). Instead of a microphone and cochlear electrodes, it uses gyroscopes to sense head movement, and its electrodes are implanted in the vestibular labyrinth. For more information on the MVI trial, click here. 2) The CGF166 Inner Ear Gene Therapy Trial involves inner ear injection of a genetically engineered DNA sequence intended to restore hearing and balance sensation by creating new sensory cells (called “hair cells”). Performed at VNEL with the support of Novartis and through a collaboration with the University of Kansas and Columbia University, this is the world’s first trial of inner ear gene therapy in human subjects. Individuals with severe or profound hearing loss in both ears are invited to participate. For more information on the CGF166 trial, click here.

The Lima Lab’s research is concentrated on the development and application of imaging and technology to address scientific and clinical problems involving the heart and vascular system. Specifically, our research is focused on developing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast techniques to investigate microvascular function in patients and experimental animals with myocardial infarction; functional reserve secondary to dobutamine stimulation and myocardial viability assessed by sodium imaging; and cardiac MRI and computed tomography (CT) program development of techniques to characterize atherosclerosis in humans with cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease. Current projects include: • The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study • The MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) Study • The Coronary Artery Evaluation using 64-row Multidetector Computed Tomography Angiography (CORE64) Study Joao Lima, MD, is a professor of medicine, radiology and epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

The neuroimaging and Modulation Laboratory (NIMLAB) investigates neural correlates of cognition and behavior using neuroimaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and neuromodulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). We are looking in depth at the contributions of the cerebellum and cerebro-cerebellar circuits to cognition; the effects of chronic heavy alcohol consumption on cognition and brain activation underlying cognitive function; how aging in humans affects neural systems that are important for associative learning and stimulus awareness; and the integration of transcranial magnetic stimulation with functional MRI.

Research interests in the Florin Selaru Lab comprise the molecular changes associated with the transition from inflammatory states in the GI tract (colon, stomach, biliary tree) to frank cancers. In addition, our current research—funded by the AGA, FAMRI and the Broad Foundation—works to further the understanding of cancer development and progression in the gastrointestinal tract.

The studies of the Functional Neurosurgery Lab currently test whether neural activity related to the experimental vigilance and conditioned expectation toward pain can be described by interrelated networks in the brain. These two psychological dimensions play an important role in chronic pain syndromes, but their neuroscience is poorly understood. Our studies of spike trains and LFPs utilize an anatomically focused platform with high temporal resolution, which complements fMRI studies surveying the whole brain at lower resolution. This platform to analyze the oscillatory power of structures in the brain, and functional connections (interactions and synchrony and causal interactions) between these structures based upon signals recorded directly from the waking human brain during surgery for epilepsy and movement disorders, e.g. tremor. Our studies have demonstrated that behaviors related to vigilance and expectation are related to electrical signals from the cortex and subcortical structures. These projects are based upon the combined expertise of Dr. Nathan Crone in recordings and clinical management of the patients studied; Dr. Anna Korzeniewska in the analyses of signals recorded from the brain; Drs. Claudia Campbell, Luana Colloca and Rick Gracely in the clinical psychology and cognitive neurology of the expectation of pain and chronic pain; Dr. Joel Greenspan in quantitative sensory testing; and Dr. Martin Lindquist in the statistical techniques. Dr. Lenz has conducted studies of this type for more than thirty years with continuous NIH funding.

Established in 2004, the MRB Molecular Imaging Service Center and Cancer Functional Imaging Core provides comprehensive molecular and functional imaging infrastructure to support the imaging research needs of the Johns Hopkins University faculty. Approximately 55-65 different Principal Investigators use the center annually. The MRB Molecular Imaging Service Center is located behind the barrier within the transgenic animal facility in the basement of MRB. The MRB location houses a 9.4T MRI/S scanner for magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy, an Olympus multiphoton microscope with in vivo imaging capability, a PET-CT scanner, a PET-SPECT scanner, and a SPECT-CT scanner for nuclear imaging, multiple optical imaging scanners including an IVIS Spectrum, and a LI COR near infrared scanner, and an ultrasound scanner. A brand new satellite facility in CRB2-LB03 opens in 2019 to house a simultaneous 7T PET-MR scanner, as well as additional imaging equipment, to meet the growing molecular and functional imaging research needs of investigators. To image with us, MRB Animal Facility training and Imaging Center Orientation are required to obtain access to the MRB Animal Facility and to the MRB Molecular Imaging Center (Suite B14). The MRB Animal Facility training group meets at 9:30 am on Thursdays at the Turner fountain/MRB elevator lobby. The Imaging Center orientation group meets at 1 pm on Thursdays at the Turner fountain, and orientation takes approximately 30 min. Please keep in mind that obtaining access to both facilities requires time, so please plan in advance.

Dr. Hua's research has centered on the development of novel MRI technologies for in vivo functional and physiological imaging in the brain, and the application of such methods for studies in healthy and diseased brains. These include the development of human and animal MRI methods to measure functional brain activities, cerebral perfusion and oxygen metabolism at high (3 Tesla) and ultra-high (7 Tesla and above) magnetic fields. He is particularly interested in novel MRI approaches to image small blood and lymphatic vessels in the brain. Collaborating with clinical investigators, these techniques have been applied 1) to detect functional, vascular and metabolic abnormalities in the brain in neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntingdon's disease (HD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mental disorders such as schizophrenia; and 2) to map brain functions and cerebrovascular reactivity for presurgical planning in patients with vascular malformations, brain tumors and epilepsy.

Researchers in the John Sampson Lab investigate relevant, appropriate, affordable and sustainable ways to improve anesthesia and perioperative care in low-resource settings. The team’s research interests include the Universal Anesthesia Machine; interpersonal relationships between anesthesia providers and their patients; how the quality of those relationships impacts professionalism, autonomy, anxiety, patient cooperation and patient satisfaction; how disease influences cerebrovascular reactivity as measured by MRI; and how education and communication can improve medical care in Africa and other austere environments. The team is currently working with clinicians in Ghana, Ethiopia and Kenya.

How do we see, hear, and think? More specifically, how can we study living people to understand how the brain sees, hears, and thinks? Recently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a powerful anatomical imaging technique widely used for clinical diagnosis, was further developed into a tool for probing brain function. By sensitizing magnetic resonance images to the changes in blood oxygenation that occur when regions of the brain are highly active, we can make ""movies"" that reveal the brain at work. Dr. Pekar works on the development and application of this MRI technology. Dr. Pekar is a biophysicist who uses a variety of magnetic resonance techniques to study brain physiology and function. Dr. Pekar serves as Manager of the F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, a research resource where imaging scientists and neuroscientists collaborate to study brain function using unique state-of-the-art techniques in a safe comfortable environment, to further develop such techniques, and to provide training and education. Dr. Pekar works with center staff to serve the center's users and to keep the center on the leading edge of technology.