# MICROSCOPIC FOUNDATION OF MULTIMODAL HUMAN IMAGING

> **NIH NIH R01** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · 2020 · $1,177,864

## Abstract

The computational properties of the human brain arise from an intricate interplay between billions of neurons
connected in complex networks. However, our ability to study these networks in healthy human brain is limited
by the necessity to use noninvasive technologies. This is in contrast to animal models where a rich, detailed
view on the cellular level brain function has become available due to recent advances in microscopic optical
imaging and genetics. Thus, a central challenge facing neuroscience today is leveraging these mechanistic
insights from animal studies to accurately draw physiological inferences from human noninvasive signals.
In the proposed project, we focus on the “Calibrated” Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) fMRI
technology asking the questions: “Which aspects of the underlying neuronal activity can be reliably inferred
from noninvasive cerebral blood flow (CBF) and Cerebral Metabolic Rate of O2 (CMRO2) observables?” and
“What further information can be obtained from combining Calibrated BOLD with Magnetoencephalography
(MEG)?”
Our central hypothesis is that specific neuronal cell types have identifiable “signatures” in the way they drive
changes in energy metabolism (CMRO2), blood flow (CBF) and contribute to macroscopic electrical signals
(MEG current dipole dynamics). Because other factors may affect baseline flow and metabolism, our focus is
on the evoked absolute CMRO2 and CBF changes associated with increased or decreased neuronal activity.
We will perform parallel experiments in mice and humans to empirically connect the dots between the
microscopic properties of brain's functional organization and their manifestation on the macroscopic level of
noninvasive observables. Based on the experimental results, we will then develop a computational framework
that will establish connections between scales and measurement modalities enabling robust estimation of the
critical aspects of neuronal circuit activity from noninvasive measurements in humans.
The proposed project will deliver a quantitative probe for neuronal activity of known cell types in human brain
enabling a paradigm shift in human fMRI studies: from a simple mapping of fMRI signal change to the explicit
estimation of the respective activity levels of specific neuronal cell types without confounding effects of the
baseline state of flow and metabolism.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10220530
- **Project number:** 7R01MH111359-05
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS)
- **Principal Investigator:** ANDERS M DALE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,177,864
- **Award type:** 7
- **Project period:** 2016-09-15 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10220530

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10220530, MICROSCOPIC FOUNDATION OF MULTIMODAL HUMAN IMAGING (7R01MH111359-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10220530. Licensed CC0.

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