In vivo and ex vivo-in situ study of the human brain using MRI and histology: comparison with standard ex vivo-ex situ brain banks’ methods

The study the nervous system using brains that people donate to science after they die is called ex-vivo study. The microscopic study of ex-vivo brains allows to understand the structure of a given region. However, we cannot study the brain of healthy living people (in-vivo) using microscopy. One method to study the brain in-vivo is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using powerful machines that provide very high image resolution. The downside of using MRI alone is the lack of certainty of which cells are responsible for a given contrast (color) on the MRI. To solve this, we study first the brain ex-vivo using MRI, and then microscopy. Our study will assess four different ways to conserve the brain, to avoid the inevitable decay over time, so we can best study the brain using MRI and microscopy.

Faculty Supervisor:

Josefina Maranzano;Denis Boire

Student:

Partner:

NeuroRx Research;NeuroRx Solutions Inc

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières

Program: