# MRI CORTICOGRAPHY: DEVELOPING NEXT GENERATION MICROSCALE HUMAN CORTEX MRI SCANNER

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · 2021 · $1,695,500

## Abstract

SUMMARY
The overarching objective of our proposal is to bring noninvasive human brain imaging into the microscale
(50-500 micron isotropic) resolution in order to create a tool for studies of neuronal circuitry and network
organization in the human brain. Our breakthrough technology, MR Corticography (MRCoG), represents
substantial advances over existing MRI approaches. MRCoG achieves dramatic gains in spatial and
temporal resolutions by focusing several different types of coil arrays on the cerebral cortex of the live
human brain. These optimized high-density receiver arrays with 128 coils also serve as a shim array and
thereby obtain much higher quality imaging. High-performance magnetic field gradients will be combined
with state-of-the-art pulse sequences to produce over 30-times acceleration in echo planar imaging. This will
enable us to reach 0.4 mm resolution in fMRI studies of the entire cerebral cortex. This unprecedented
spatial resolution in human fMRI is sufficient to identify functional activity at different depth in the cortex
corresponding to different cortical layers. MRCoG will also be used to achieve 100-200 micron resolution
susceptibility contrast images and this enables us to map intra-cortical axon connections and the
cytoarchitecture of human cortex. With over 10 times higher resolution than current 7T scanners, MRCoG
will overcome current scale limitations in imaging the function and structure of cortical layers and columns.
 The evaluation and refinement of MRCoG will entail using advanced computational models of brain
circuitry, feedforward and feedback neuronal circuit models and computational models for decoding the
brain using data from layer specific and column specific fMRI. Functional and structural MRI performed with
MRCoG will generate new avenues to explore human brain circuitry at an order of magnitude higher spatial
resolution, while importantly image the entire cortex rather than by current approaches (e.g. zoomed
imaging) that measure only small areas of cortex.
 Many existing 7T MRI scanners will be able to incorporate MRCoG high-resolution technology;
therefore, MRCoG can be rapidly disseminated to neuroscience research centers and used to advance
medical discoveries. We will evaluate MRCoG ability to resolve currently unobservable cortex abnormalities
in epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to improve localization and mapping of abnormal
circuitry in the brain.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10265466
- **Project number:** 5U01EB025162-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
- **Principal Investigator:** David Alan Feinberg
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,695,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-30 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10265466

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10265466, MRI CORTICOGRAPHY: DEVELOPING NEXT GENERATION MICROSCALE HUMAN CORTEX MRI SCANNER (5U01EB025162-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10265466. Licensed CC0.

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