Abstract:
In our exploration of cognition, we learnt to rely on neuroimaging techniques, assuming that what we measure is the brain itself. Yet, our brain functions only when it is embedded in a living body, that breathes, has a heart beating, and supports the brain through its vasculature. In fact, one of the main ways we measure cerebral activity, functional MRI, relies on an indirect measure, the neurovascular coupling, mediated by changes in the bloodstream dependent on physiological functions, like breathing and heartbeat, and vascular regulation. These physiological sources may play a role in our understanding of cerebral activity and regulation. In this talk, I will introduce cerebrovascular homoeostatic processes, in particular cerebrovascular reactivity. I will show some insights we obtained from improving cerebrovascular reactivity mapping, and from observing its relationship with cognitive performance during tasks and at rest in a dense mapping dataset. I will then introduce the latest insights on how vasculature itself can affect cognitive performance, and discuss possible venues to better understand if, and how, physiology can alter the way we think about, and measure, the brain.
Bio: Stefano Moia's research explores the link between dynamic and static cerebral physiology, cognition, and individual variability through multimodal MRI. Currently, he is developing a method to leverage meso-scale vascular imaging to understand the dynamics of the BOLD signal, and he is studying the role of meso-scale vessels in brain plasticity. Previously, he worked on improving cerebrovascular reactivity mapping to study its relationship with cognitive performance, and on methods to analyse multimodal structural-functional MRI data based on graph signal processing. To facilitate concurrent MRI and physiological imaging, he founded and led the physiopy community until very recently, leading a team of international scientists to develop software, guidelines, and data standards for physiological data in neuroimaging.
Stefano is also committed to open and reproducible science practices. This commitment led him to maintain various open source softwares for physiological and multimodal imaging, as well as taking the role of General Chair for the Open Science Special Interest Group of the Organization of Human Brain Mapping society from 2024 to 2026.