December 3, 2019
15:00-16:00
CiNet 1F Conference Room

Jiajia Yang
Assistant Professor
Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems
Okayama University

Abstract:
Haptic object perception begins with continuous exploratory contacts in a three-dimensional world, and the human brain needs to accumulate sensory information continuously over time. This time-varying haptic processing is thought to activate a widespread cortical network that includes the primary sensorimotor cortex and higher-level regions. My research group specializes in understanding the human haptic processing from a single cortical layer to the whole brain. In this talk, first, I will give an overview of our recent findings in the human somatosensory system. Then, I will present and discuss our recent challenges in the human somatosensory cortex (S1) by using high-resolution (0.7 mm) blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) and vascular-space-occupancy (VASO) fMRI at 7T. Furthermore, I will review several recent cutting-edge studies that have used layer fMRI successfully to examine basic scientific questions in human brain. Finally, I will highlight potential future research directions and describe the limitations of layer fMRI.

Host: Hiromasa Takemura (Kida Group)