活体人脑结构和功能连接组研究是当今神经科学领域最为核心的课题之一。近期发展的快速磁共振成像序列（如多频带平面回波成像）采用多层同时扫描技术，实现了对全脑扩散和功能影像的快速采集，而且可获得比传统磁共振扫描更为精细、真实地反映脑白质纤维和脑功能活动的信息。目前快速成像技术已引起人脑连接组领域的广泛关注，然而与之相关的计算方法很不成熟，有效性和适用性有待考察。本项目拟采用快速扩散和快速功能成像技术，结合动脉自旋标记灌注成像和磁共振波谱成像，开展人脑连接组关键计算方法及其临床应用研究，包括：快速磁共振扫描获取的脑网络可重测性评价；快速成像下的脑结构和功能网络的拓扑关联及其生理基础；快速成像技术在阿尔茨海默病脑网络研究的适用性。我们期望建立规范的基于快速成像的脑网络计算方法，这不仅对人脑连接组学前沿课题起到重要推动，而且对阿尔茨海默病等重大脑疾病的病理生理机制及早期诊断等临床问题研究提供方法支持。

Human brain connectomics represents structural and functional connectivity patterns of human brain networks and is one of the central topics of current neuroscience research. The recently developed fast-MRI sequences such as “multiband EPI” can achieve fast acquisition of whole-brain diffusion and functional MRI imaging through scanning at multiple bands simultaneously, obtaining richer and more accurate brain structural and functional information compared to conventional MRI. While fast MRI receives wide interest in the human connectomics field, the relevant computation methodology research is at its infancy. The proposed project aims at developing computational methodology for brain network analyses based on fast diffusion and functional MRI and to further apply such methodology to the study of brain diseases such as the prodromal stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We will 1) evaluate the test-retest reliability of connectivity and topological metrics of the structural and functional brain networks obtained with fast MRI; 2) study the topological relationships between human brain structural and functional networks derived from fast MRI; 3) investigate the underlying physiological basis of hub regions in human brain networks by combining Arterial Spin Labeling and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy data; and 4) explore the brain network abnormality patterns associated with the prodromal stage of AD with fast MRI. These studies will lead to the development of a standard computational protocol for brain network analyses based on multi-modal fast MRI, provide the methodological foundation for studying the brain with richer information offered by the promising next-generation imaging sequence, advance the human brain connectomics research in general, and contribute to the clinical research of neurological and psychiatric disorders such as AD, depression and addiction.