The Neuroimaging Of Brain Diseases

Notable experts in the field of neuroimaging provide comprehensive overviews of advances in functional and structural aspects of both common and uncommon brain disorders. Functional imaging is evolving quickly but researchers and clinicians do not always have a strong understanding of the fundamental basis of the imaging techniques that they use. By focusing on both structure and function this book will provide a strong foundation for emerging developments in the field.

Neuroimaging is a sub-field of medical imaging that focuses on the entire central nervous system (CNS) including the brain and the spinal cord. Neuroimaging studies help in describing how the brain functions and how diverse activities affect the brain. It is majorly used to diagnose diseases and monitor brain health. Some of the important neuroimaging techniques include electroencephalography (EEG), positron emission tomography (PET), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), computerized tomography (CT), magnetoencephalography (MEG), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and diffuse optical tomography (DOT). These techniques are essential tools in investigating nervous system diseases and disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, brain tumors, stroke, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, schizophrenia (SZ), and bipolar disorder (BP). Recent advancements in neuroimaging enable more accurate diagnosis, monitoring and prognosis of neurological, neuropsychological and psychiatric disorders. This book brings forth some of the most recent developments and research in neuroimaging and elucidates the unexplored aspects of diagnosing brain diseases. It is a vital tool for individuals associated with neuroimaging of brain diseases.

There has been increasing interests in exploring biomarkers from brain images, aiming to have a better understanding and a more effective diagnosis of brain disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Alzheimer’s disease and so on. Therefore, it is important to identify disease-specific changes for distinguishing healthy controls and patients with brain disorders as well as for differentiating patients with different disorders showing similar clinical symptoms. Biomarkers can be identified from different types of brain Imaging techniques including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), structural MRI, positron emission tomography (PET), electroencephalography (EEG), and magnetoencephalography (MEG) by using statistical analysis methods. Furthermore, based on measures from brain imaging techniques, machine learning techniques can help to classify or predict disease for individual subjects. In fact, fusion of features from multiple modalities may benefit the understanding of disease mechanism and improve the classification performance. This Research Topic further explores the functional or structural alterations in brain disorders.

This open access book offers an essential overview of brain, head and neck, and spine imaging. Over the last few years, there have been considerable advances in this area, driven by both clinical and technological developments. Written by leading international experts and teachers, the chapters are disease-oriented and cover all relevant imaging modalities, with a focus on magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. The book also includes a synopsis of pediatric imaging. IDKD books are rewritten (not merely updated) every four years, which means they offer a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art in imaging. The book is clearly structured and features learning objectives, abstracts, subheadings, tables and take-home points, supported by design elements to help readers navigate the text. It will particularly appeal to general radiologists, radiology residents, and interventional radiologists who want to update their diagnostic expertise, as well as clinicians from other specialties who are interested in imaging for their patient care.

This volume highlights the remarkable new developments in brain imaging, including those that apply magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET), that allow us to non invasively study the living human brain in health and in disease. These technological advances have allowed us to obtain new and powerful insights into the structure and function of the healthy brain as it develops across the life cycle, as well as the molecular make up of brain systems and circuits as they develop and change with age. New brain imaging technologies have also given us new insights into the causes of many common brain disorders, including ADHD, schizophrenia, depression and Alzheimer’s disease, which collectively affect a large segment of the population. These new insights have major implications for understanding and treating these brain disorders, and are providing clinicians with the first ever set of biomarkers that can be used to guide diagnosis and monitor treatment effects. The advances in brain imaging over the last 20 years, summarized in this volume, represent a major advance in modern biomedical sciences.

Neuroimaging, Part One, a text from The Handbook of Clinical Neurology illustrates how neuroimaging is rapidly expanding its reach and applications in clinical neurology. It is an ideal resource for anyone interested in the study of the nervous system, and is useful to both beginners in various related fields and to specialists who want to update or refresh their knowledge base on neuroimaging. This first volume specifically covers a description of imaging techniques used in the adult brain, aiming to bring a comprehensive view of the field of neuroimaging to a varying audience. It brings broad coverage of the topic using many color images to illustrate key points. Contributions from leading global experts are collated, providing the broadest view of neuroimaging as it currently stands. For a number of neurological disorders, imaging is not only critical for diagnosis, but also for monitoring the effect of therapies, and the entire field is moving from curing diseases to preventing them. Most of the information contained in this volume reflects the newness of this approach, pointing to this new horizon in the study of neurological disorders. Provides a relevant description of the technologies used in neuroimaging, including computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and several others Ideal resource for anyone studying the nervous system, from beginners to specialists interested in recent advances in neuroimaging of the adult brain Discusses the application of imaging techniques to the study of brain and spinal cord disease and its use in various syndromes Contains vibrant, colorful images to illustrate key points

The brain is the most complex computational device we know, consisting of highly interacting and redundant networks of areas, supporting specific brain functions. The rules by which these areas organize themselves to perform specific computations have only now started to be uncovered. Advances in non-invasive neuroimaging technologies have revolutionized our understanding of the functional anatomy of cortical circuits in health and disease states, which is the focus of this book. The first section of this book focuses on methodological issues, such as combining functional MRI technology with other brain imaging modalities. The second section examines the application of brain neuroimaging to understand cognitive, visual, auditory, motor and decision-making networks, as well as neurological diseases. The use of non-invasive neuroimaging technologies will continue to stimulate an exponential growth in understanding basic brain processes, largely as a result of sustained advances in neuroimaging methods and applications.

Neuroimaging, Part Two, a volume in The Handbook of Clinical Neurology series, illustrates how neuroimaging is rapidly expanding its reach and applications in clinical neurology. It is an ideal resource for anyone interested in the study of the nervous system, and is useful to both beginners in various related fields and to specialists who want to update or refresh their knowledge base on neuroimaging. This second volume covers imaging of the adult spine and peripheral nervous system, as well as pediatric neuroimaging. In addition, it provides an overview of the differential diagnosis of the most common imaging findings, such as ring enhancement on MRI, and a review of the indications for imaging in the most frequent neurological syndromes. The volume concludes with a review of neuroimaging in experimental animals and how it relates to neuropathology. It brings broad coverage of the topic using many color images to illustrate key points. Contributions from leading global experts are collated, providing the broadest view of neuroimaging as it currently stands. For a number of neurological disorders, imaging is not only critical for diagnosis, but also for monitoring the effect of therapies, with the entire field moving from curing diseases to preventing them. Most of the information contained in this volume reflects the newness of this approach, pointing to the new horizon in the study of neurological disorders. Provides a relevant description of the technologies used in neuroimaging, such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and several others Discusses the application of these techniques to the study of brain and spinal cord disease Explores the indications for the use of these techniques in various syndromes