CESNE - Neuroimaging Lab

Description

CESNE, the Neuroimaging lab of the Institute, is a multidisciplinary group where Medical Doctors and Engineers work side by side integrating the clinical expertise of the first with the technical competences of the latter. The hearth of the unit is a 3T Magnetic Resonance (MR) scanner  dedicated both to clinical and research activities, mainly on pediatric subjects, including children affected by rare neurological disorders, genetic abnormalities, movement disorders or acquired lesions (i.e. traumas). The main goal is the identification of diagnostic biomarkers and indices to characterize cerebral effects of neurological disorders, and to evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation treatments in terms of functional and structural brain modifications. Neuro-pathological mechanisms and alterations responsible for some neurological disorders, like cerebral malformations, are investigated combining advanced MR imaging with clinical and genetic data.

Thanks to the membership of E. Medea Institute in “Imago7” Consortium, CESNE participates to research projects on the first and unique ultra-high field (7T) magnet installed in Italy, near Pisa.

It is also one of the leading members of the “Colibrì” project, a national imaging database of rare pediatric neurologic disorders aimed at promoting better diagnosis, research and networking among experts in the field.

The main research topics of the group are:

• Morphological analysis:
  • algorithms of lesion detection and automatic classification based on the brain shape and geometry derived from T1 and T2 weighted scans;
  • super resolution imaging;
• Structural analysis:
  • algorithms and pipelines for the quantification of diffusion weighted sequences (DTI and non-gaussian techniques);
  • iron quantification from Susceptibility Weighted Imaging;
  • evaluation of the effects of rehabilitation treatments on brain structure;
• Functional analysis:
  • effects of acquired lesions or genetic pathologies on the brain activity, using both task fMRI and resting state;
  • evaluation of rehabilitation treatments in terms of brain activity.
• Muscular imaging:
  • multiparametric analysis of muscles in congenital dystrophies
  • multiparametric evaluation of rehabilitation trainings in patients with acquired brain injuries

Selected Publications

• Arrigoni F, Romaniello R, Peruzzo D, De Luca A, Parazzini C, Valente EM, Borgatti R, Triulzi R. Anterior mesencephalic cap dysplasia: novel brainstem malformative features associated with Joubert syndrome. AJNR 2017 [Epub ahead of print]
• Romaniello R, Arrigoni F, Panzeri E, Poretti A, Micalizzi A, Citterio A, Bedeschi MF, Berardinelli A, Cusmai M, D'Arrigo S, Ferraris A, Hackenberg A, Kuechler A, Mancardi M, Nuovo S, Oehl-Jaschkowitz B, Rossi A, Signorini S, Tuttelmann F, Wahl D, Hehr U, Boltshauser E, Bassi MT, Valente EM, Borgatti R., Tubulin-related cerebellar dysplasia: definition of a distinct pattern of cerebellar malformation. Eur Radiol. 2017 Jul 4. [Epub ahead of print]
• Mascheretti S, De Luca A, Trezzi V, Peruzzo D, Nordio A, Marino C, Arrigoni F., Neurogenetics of developmental dyslexia: from genes to behavior through brain neuroimaging and cognitive and sensorial mechanisms. Transl Psychiatry 2017;7(1):e987
• Montirosso R, Arrigoni F, Casini E, Nordio A, De Carli P, Di Salle F, Moriconi S, Re M, Reni G, Borgatti R. Greater brain response to emotional expressions of their own children in mothers of preterm infants: an fMRI study. J Perinatol. 2017; 37(6):716-722     
• Romaniello R, Marelli S, Giorda R, Bedeschi MF, Bonaglia MC, Arrigoni F, Triulzi F, Bassi MT, Borgatti R. Clinical characterization, genetics, and long-term follow-up of a large cohort of patients with agenesis of the corpus callosum. J Child Neurol 2017; 32(1):60-71
• De Luca A, Arrigoni F, Romaniello R, Triulzi F, Peruzzo D, Bertoldo A., Automatic localization of cerebral cortical malformations using fractal analysis. Phys Med Biol 2016;61:6025-40
• Peruzzo D, Arrigoni F, Triulzi F, Righini A, Parazzini C, Castellani U., A framework for the automatic detection and characterization of brain malformations: Validation on the corpus callosum. Med Image Anal. 2016;32:233-42
• Arrigoni F, Peruzzo D, Gagliardi C, Maghini C, Colombo P, Servodio-Iammarrone F, Pierpaoli C, Triulzi F, Turconi AC., Whole brain DTI assessment of white matter damage in children with bilateral cerebral palsy: evidence of involvement beyond the primary target of the anoxic insult. AJNR 2016:3 7(7):1347-53
• Maggioni E, Zucca C, Reni G, Cerutti S, Triulzi F, Bianchi AM, Arrigoni F., Investigation of the electrophysiological correlates of negative BOLD response during intermittent photic stimulation: an EEG-fMRI study. Hum Brain Mapp 2016; 37(6):2247-62
• Arrigoni F, Romaniello R, Peruzzo D, Righini A, Parazzini C, Colombo P, Bassi MT, Triulzi F, Borgatti R. Aberrant supracallosal longitudinal bundle: MR features, pathogenesis and associated clinical phenotype. Eur Radiol 2016; 26(8):2587-96
• Maggioni E, Molteni E, Zucca C, Reni G, Cerutti S, Triulzi F, Arrigoni F, Bianchi  AM., Investigation of negative BOLD responses in human brain through NIRS technique. A visual stimulation study. Neuroimage 2015; 108:410-22

Partnerships

• John Hopkins Children's Center, Baltimore, USA;
• National Institute of Health (NIH), Bethesda, USA;
• University Medical Center, Utrecht, Olanda;
• Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italia;
• Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italia;
• Università degli Studi di Verona, Verona, Italia;
• Ospedale Buzzi, Milano, Italia;
• Ospedale Maggiore, Milano, Italia;
• Istituto Mendel, “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza”, Roma, Italia;
• CNR – IBFM, Segrate, Italia