Scientists who study the brain strive to detect very specific signals from among the billions of neurotransmitter molecules present. Precise and sensitive imaging methods are crucial because some signals are very small.
Northeastern University’s NeuroPRISM lab, led by assistant psychology professor Stephanie Noble, makes tools that pave the way for reliable and reproducible neuroimaging of the brain’s deepest recesses.
“The focus of the lab is both on developing these tools and then showing the community what sort of knowledge can be gained from them,” Noble says. After developing algorithms to help researchers estimate how precise their study findings will be, the lab is now building tools to sharpen precision even further. “This is the most comprehensive version of this, where we can show lots of different people how different types of studies can be improved.”
The lab is focused on “precision neuroscience,” a kind of meta-research to help scientists publish results that other scientists can duplicate. Their data-driven tools can enhance signals collected during functional MRIs — imaging that is like a movie of blood flow in the brain. More broadly, the lab’s work aims to help all neuroscientists do more rigorous research.
“We want our work to both help address problems with reproducibility that are widely acknowledged in the field,” Noble says, “and also to better characterize the individual so we can get closer to personalized ‘precision medicine’ solutions.”
Read more at Northeastern Global News
Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University
