Abstract

Speaker: Dr. Eline Kupers, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, United States.

Title: Principles of intensive functional MRI .

Abstract: Human neuroscience is experiencing a growing interest in the acquisition and openly sharing of large-scale functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) datasets. Initial large-scale fMRI data sets have focused on either ‘wide’ sampling: acquiring a few hours of brain data from many participants (n ≥ 100; e.g., the UK BioBank (Miller et al., 2016), or ‘deep’ sampling: acquiring many hours of brain data from a few participants (n ≤ 20; e.g., the Midnight Scan Club (Gordon et al., 2017)). By collecting many hours of data from a small group of participants, these deep datasets have enabled detailed investigation of brain structure and function. In this talk, I will highlight an emerging deep sampling approach in fMRI, which we term ‘intensive’ fMRI, that aims to extensively sample cognitive phenomena within a small group of individuals to support within-subject computational modeling at the voxel level. I will discuss the key characteristics of intensive fMRI: to create datasets with well-designed experiments that enable a rich hypothesis space, that maximize both data quantity and quality, and that serve as a valuable community resource. Informed by efforts creating the Natural Scenes Dataset (Allen et al., 2022) and the upcoming Visual Cognition Dataset, I will address practical considerations and challenges of intensive fMRI, including optimizing trial and experimental design and screening and selecting participants to maximize data quality. When done well, intensive fMRI datasets enable better models of human cognition and bridge multiple neuroscience communities.

Bio: Dr. Eline Kupers is currently a postdoc working with Dr. Kendrick Kay at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR) at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Her research focuses on understanding the underlying organization and neural computations that support and limit human visual perception, combining computational tools, psychophysics, and neuroimaging techniques (functional MRI , EEG and MEG ). She received her PhD from New York University, working with Dr. Jonathan Winawer and Dr. Marisa Carrasco, and did her first postdoc working with Dr. Kalanit Grill-Spector at Stanford University. In the Fall of 2025, Eline will start her own lab as tenure-track faculty at York University in Toronto, Canada.

Venue: MRC CBU West Wing Seminar Room and Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82385113580?pwd=RmxIUmphQW9Ud1JBby9nTDQzR0NRdz09 (Meeting ID: 823 8511 3580; Passcode: 299077)