USC INI

Lab Spotlight: Mapping Cell-Type Vulnerability in the Hippocampus with Precision Tissue Sectioning - Precisionary The Bienkowski Lab uses the Compresstome® vibratome from Precisionary Instruments to prepare high-quality brain tissue sections from mouse models.

Check out @neuralmapping.bsky.social's lab spotlight from Precisionary Instruments!

precisionary.com/lab-spotligh...

Meet Sam, one of our current @uscniin.bsky.social students! 👋

From quality control of brain images to developing new projects using large-scale datasets, Sam is gaining hands-on experience at the intersection of neuroscience, data, and mental health research 🧠

YouTube video by USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute The Human Brain

Check out the anatomy and structural complexity of the brain at different scales 👀 👀

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK8r...

Our animation shows how brain cells form new connections, a process called synaptogenesis. As neurons grow, their long extensions (axons) reach out and connect with tiny contact points on neighboring neurons, helping build the brain’s communication network 🧠 🎇

🎉 Congrats to @uscniin.bsky.social alum Bennett Alterman, PhD!

We’re thrilled to celebrate Bennett’s new professional milestone, stepping into his next role as a Research Scientist at Colorado State University. We wish him continued success and innovation in this next chapter!

Check out our new Center for Integrative Connectomics website!
@neuralmapping.bsky.social & his team investigate why specific brain cell types are vulnerable to neurodegenerative disease. This work aims to identify therapeutic targets & improve patient outcomes 🧠
👉 cic.ini.usc.edu

🎉 Congratulations to Grace Schwartz from our @uscniin.bsky.social class of 2024 on starting medical school at UCLA. We're glad we've been a part of her academic career and can't wait to see what she accomplishes next! 🧠 🥼

Danny Wang, University of Southern California - New Brain Imaging Method Reveals Hidden Vascular Changes with Aging - The Academic Minute Some aging-related changes can be hidden. Danny Wang, professor of neurology, radiology, and biomedical engineering and Director of Imaging Technology Innovation at the Stevens Neuroimaging and Inform...

How wonderful to have our very own Danny JJ Wang featured on The Academic Minute today!
Give it a listen and learn more about his new 🧠 imaging technique, which opens new possibilities for detecting early signs of vascular and neurodegenerative disease.

bit.ly/4s7iAHS

Got someone interested in cutting-edge medical imaging technologies for visualizing blood-brain barrier function on your holiday gift list?? We've got you covered 😆🎁🧠

bit.ly/48MlloU

Wishing our @uscniin.bsky.social students the very best as finals get underway! You got this!

🧠 Our fall newsletter is live!
From bold new NIH-backed grants, breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s, brain aging, and AI-driven imaging, discover how we’re mapping the brain, advancing precision rehab, and training the next generation of neuroscientists.
bit.ly/4oU6tv3

USC study reveals hidden cellular layers in the brain’s memory center Researchers at the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have identified a previously unknown pattern of organization in one ...

🚨 Our latest study from @neuralmapping.bsky.social and his team is out in @nature.com and reveals a hidden set of cellular layers inside the hippocampus, the brain’s key center for learning and memory 🧠

Learn more about this work and its implications for memory and disease: bit.ly/48NtGdf

Warm Thanksgiving wishes from all of us at the Stevens INI!
Here's to giving your brain a well-deserved break and enjoying a delicious meal and good company 🧠 🥧 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦

USC study maps brain wiring differences in youth with autism Related News USC study finds new evidence linking dementia to problems with the brain’s waste clearance system January 7, 2025 Stevens INI receives prestigious contract to advance women’s brain health...

🚨 We're thrilled to share NEW findings from @kelawrence.bsky.social on how brain wiring differs in children & young adults with autism. By mapping white matter pathways in unprecedented detail, we identified structural differences that earlier methods often overlooked 🧠
👉 bit.ly/3XUGyrH

USC team explores pain pathways that heighten endometriosis NIH-funded study to use neuroimaging data. Endometriosis affects millions.

We’re proud that our own Dr. Neda Jahanshad is co-leading a new NIH-funded study investigating how the brain’s pain-processing pathways shape treatment outcomes in endometriosis 🧠🔬
Learn more: bit.ly/3JEv34w

Our NIIN students jumped straight from the classroom into the MRI suite last week, getting hands-on with the same technology driving today’s biggest breakthroughs in neuroscience. Nothing beats learning imaging by actually running the scanners 🧠 ✌

USC researchers use AI to uncover genetic blueprint of the brain’s largest communication bridge Related News New grant funds study on role of brain’s reward system in autism and ADHD  December 10, 2024 USC study finds new evidence linking dementia to problems with the […]

We’ve mapped the genetic blueprint of the brain’s largest communication bridge using a new AI tool developed here at the Stevens INI 🧠 🗺️
Our publicly available tool reveals how genes shape this vital structure & may influence certain disorders.
Learn more: bit.ly/47V28SJ

Through @enigmabrains.bsky.social, we analyzed brain scans from one of the largest global cohorts of people with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome—a major genetic risk factor for schizophrenia. We found brain alterations associated with the genetic condition:

YouTube video by USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute AI and machine learning for Neuroimaging at the INI

We’re advancing AI to improve brain disease diagnosis, uncover biomarkers of aging, and enhance clinical imaging. Watch our video to see how AI works and explore some of our recent visualizations 💻🧠👩‍🔬
www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_YQ...

🎉 Congrats to @uscniin.bsky.social alum Matthew Thurston '20!

Matthew and his colleagues published a paper in the Journal of Affective Disorders examining patterns of post-stroke depression across 41 studies and nearly 7,000 stroke survivors.
Check it out 👉 bit.ly/4hlZFUF

The @uscniin.bsky.social crew is all smiles for their fMRI analysis with Dr. Kay Jann 😀🧠💻

YouTube video by USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute Hippocampus volume with vasculature

On Tuesdays, we look at the hippocampus with vasculature ✌️🧠
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ1Q...

In the retina, amacrine cells boost contrast by silencing nearby signals, helping your brain detect edges and details. Retinal ganglion cells then send that refined picture to your brain through the optic nerve.
Data from @neuralmapping.bsky.social 👀🧠

Top USC researcher awarded Gold Medal by Society of Biological Psychiatry Related News Double Victory: Residency Classmates Turned USC Faculty Achieve NIH Funding Success March 21, 2024 From electrical engineering to the inner ear: how Radha Kalluri, PhD, uses the physical ...

Our very own @ptenigma.bsky.social has been selected as the recipient of a 2025 Gold Medal Award from the Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP) 🎉🙌
Learn more: bit.ly/4pLfrfF

USC Researchers Develop New Brain Imaging Method to Reveal Hidden Vascular Changes with Aging Related News USC study links lack of diversity in Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials to differences in amyloid levels April 17, 2024 USC study finds new evidence linking dementia to problems […]

🚨 New discovery 🚨
Our very own Danny JJ Wang & his team developed a noninvasive brain-imaging method that reveals hidden microvascular pulsations in aging brains, which may offer earlier clues into dementia and Alzheimer’s risk.
Read the press release here: bit.ly/3KpUR46

For your viewing pleasure, NEURONS 👀 🧠

ADNI fMRI and tau PET data measuring complexity of brain activity changes in Alzheimer's Disease Dr. Kay Jann and his team used functional MRI and tau PET to examine how brain activity complexity changes in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and its relationship to tau protein accumulation, a key marker of AD. We found that individuals with AD exhibit less complex brain activity during rest. This reduction in complexity was associated with higher levels of tau protein and poorer cognition. These links were seen in both typical and genetic forms of AD. Measuring brain signal complexity could help detect AD earlier and monitor its progression, even before major symptoms develop. Learn more: http://bit.ly/48tSbwe

Dr. Kay Jann used fMRI and tau PET to show that Alzheimer’s patients have less complex brain activity at rest—linked to higher tau buildup and poorer cognition. Measuring brain signal complexity may aid early detection and tracking of AD.

Learn more: bit.ly/48tSbwe

bit.ly/4ndzRfB

On #WorldAlzheimersDay we reaffirm our mission: using advanced imaging, informatics, and AI to uncover the causes of AD and discover new treatments. Here’s just one recent example of our work:

YouTube video by USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute OCT angiography - normal and edema datasets compared

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) angiography is a non-invasive imaging technique that creates 3D images of the retinal and choroidal blood vessels, detecting blood flow by comparing sequential scans 🧠 👀
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Ku...

Congrats to @uscniin.bsky.social alumnus Jonathan (JD) Alibrando ’25, who has joined Neda Jahanshad's team as a project assistant on the ENIGMA tractography project! We know JD will do great work 🧠🙌