A review of functional MRI application for brain research of Chinese language processing

As one of the most widely used languages in the world,Chinese language is distinct from most western languages in many properties,thus providing a unique opportunity for understanding the brain basis of human language and cognition.In recent years,non-invasive neuroimaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)blaze a new trail to comprehensively study specific neural correlates of Chinese language processing and Chinese speakers.We reviewed the application of functional MRI(fMRI)in such studies and some essential findings on brain systems in processing Chinese.Specifically,for example,the application of task fMRI and resting-state fMRI in observing the process of reading and writing the logographic characters and producing or listening to the tonal speech.Elementary cognitive neuroscience and several potential research directions around brain and Chinese language were discussed,which may be informative for future research.

New avenues for functional neuroimaging:ultra-high field MRI and OPM-MEG

Functional brain imaging technology has developed rapidly in recent years.On the one hand,high-field 7-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)has excelled the limited spatial resolution of 3-Tesla MRI,allowing us to enter a new world of mesoscopic imaging from the macroscopic imaging of human brain functions.On the other hand,novel optical pumping magnetometer-magnetoencephalography(OPM-MEG)has broken down the technical barriers of traditional superconducting MEG,which brings imaging of neuronal electromagnetic signals from cortical imaging to whole-brain imaging.This article aims to present a brief introduction regarding the development of conventional MRI and MEG technology,and,more importantly,to delineate that high-field MRI and OPM-MEG complement each other and together will lead us into a new era of functional brain imaging.

The SACT Template:A Human Brain Diffusion Tensor Template for School-age Children

School-age children are in a specific development stage corresponding to juvenility,when the white matter of the brain experiences ongoing maturation.Dffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging(DWI),especially diffusion tensor imaging(DTI),is extensively used to characterize the maturation by assessing white matter properties in vivo.In the analysis of DWI data,spatial normalization is crucial for conducting inter-subject analyses or linking the individual space with the reference space.Using tensor-based registration with an appropriate diffusion tensor template presents high accuracy regarding spatial normalization.However,there is a lack of a standardized diffusion tensor template dedicated to school-age children with ongoing brain development.Here,we established the school-age children diffusion tensor(SACT)template by optimizing tensor reorientation on high-quality DTI data from a large sample of cognitively normal participants aged 6-12 years.With an age-balanced design,the SACT template represented the entire age range well by showing high similarity to the age-specific templates.Compared with the tensor template of adults,the SACT template revealed significantly higher spatial normalization accuracy and inter-subject coherence upon evaluation of subjects in two different datasets of schoolage children.A practical application regarding the age associations with the normalized DTI-derived data was conducted to further compare the SACT template and the adult template.Although similar spatial patterns were found,the SACT template showed significant effects on the distributions of the statistical results,which may be related to the performance of spatial normalization.Looking forward,the SACT template could contribute to future studies of white matter development in both healthy and clinical populations.The SACT template is publicly available now(tp://igshare com/aricles/dataseu'SACT_.template/14071283).