MRI Lab

Heads

PD Dr. Fahad Sultan
Tel. 07071 29 80464

Dr. Peter Dicke
Tel. 07071 29 81936

Fax 07071 29 5724

Staff
Artin Atabaki
Salahadin Hamodeh
Karolina Marciniak
Zong-Peng Sun


We humans are impressed by the unparalleled expansion of our brains after an evolutionary process that distanced us from our fellow primates. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) exploiting magnetic alterations induced by the level of blood-oxygenation saturation (BOLD) and structural MRI has allowed us to observe many aspects of the human brain in an incomparable way. Nevertheless, aside from the temporal and spatial limits of fMRI and MRI, the method only allows us to observe some aspects of the complex actions and structures of the neuronal machinery, requiring invasive methods to further elucidate the underlying mechanisms. On the one hand, we use MRI to optimize invasive techniques with better temporal and spatial resolution (such as single unit recordings) and on the other hand, together with Nikos Logothetis from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics we use invasive techniques such as electrical stimulation in animals to utilize the unique 3D capabilities of MRI to image the brain's functional connectivity.


Key publications
Tehovnik EJ, Tolias AS, Sultan F, Slocum WM, Logothetis NK. Direct and indirect activation of cortical neurons by electrical microstimulation. J Neurophysiol 2006; 96(2):512-521.

Tolias AS, Sultan F, Augath M, Oeltermann A, Tehovnik EJ, Schiller PH, Logothetis NK. Mapping cortical activity elicited with electrical microstimulation using fMRI in the macaque. Neuron 2005;48:901-911.

Sultan F. Brain evolution: Analysis of mammalian brain architecture. Nature 2002;415:133-134.

Heck D, Sultan F. Das unterschätzte Kleinhirn. Spektrum der Wissenschaft 2001;10:36-44.

Sultan F, Bower JM. Quantitative Golgi Study of the Rat Cerebellar Molecular Layer Interneurons Using Principal Component Analysis. J Comp Neurol 1998;393:353-373.

Sultan F, Braitenberg V. Shapes and Sizes of Different Mammalian Cerebella. A study in quantitative comparative neuroanatomy. J Hirnforsch 1993;34:79-92.