Research
Executive functions are a set of cognitive processes that coordinate our ability to reason, control emotions, solve problems and plan ahead. Deficits in executive functions accompany psychiatric disorders, as well as some neurological illnesses like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
To be able to use non-invasive human imaging to distinguish a healthy brain from one that is in the early stages of disease, it is important to understand functional brain changes in health and disease. For this reason, we study the neurobiological basis of executive functions using a novel multi-modal brain imaging approach that combines PET and fMRI.
Photo: Mikael Stiernstedt
The hybrid PET-MR system allows simultaneous assessment of fMRI signals, blood flow and glucose metabolic response during performance of a cognitive task. Hybrid PET-MR imaging is a young technology and is technically challenging. However, in the context of our research it is pivotal, as traditional imaging techniques have very limited ability to assess the temporal relation between moment-to-moment fluctuations of the fMRI signal and the underlying molecular processes.
Find out more about our research projects below.
