Regular courses
fMRI: Hands-On Training (PSY 5065)
Next offering: Spring 2009. Website for current offering.
Course goals
By the end of the semester, students will:
&ndash be comfortable with the hardware and software in the MR environment.
&ndash be acquainted with the fundamental physical principles behind MRI
&ndash understand the possible types of image contrast, and their uses in neuroscience
&ndash be adept at modifying pulse sequence parameters to balance the inevitable trade-offs between signal-to-noise ratio, resolution and acquisition time.
&ndash know how to modify an experimental protocol to minimize the impact of distortion and signal loss due to magnetic field inhomogeneities.
Sensation and Perception (PSY 3031)
Next offering: Spring 2009. Snapshot of Moodle website .
Text: Goldstein, 7th ed.
Other Courses Developed
Hands-on Training portion of 2007 Minnesota High-Field Workshops.
fMRI: Biological Basis and Experimental Design (Psy 8960, Spring 2005 & 2006)
Course websites: lecture-based (2005), discussion-based (2006).
Course content was evenly divided between three topics:
&ndash the rudiments of MRI techniques, with particular emphasis on artifacts in EPI
&ndash the biological basis of the fMRI signal, discussing the underlying neuroscience and vascular physiology
&ndash the fundamentals of experiment design and data analysis.Advanced Physics of MRI (BPhy 8147 / Psy 8960, Fall 2005)
Course website: http://www.cmrr.umn.edu/class/BPhy8147
Course description: NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) and MRI physics, spatial selection and encoding, imaging hardware and system engineering. Imaging sequences, associated contrast/resolution. NMR spectroscopy with an emphasis on in vivo. Recent developments in MRI.