Meet our newest class of NIIN students! 👋 We're thrilled to have this group diving into neuroimaging and informatics topics with us. Welcome aboard, and good luck! 🧠👩‍💻

Our researchers found that healthier superficial white matter, the brain's short-range wiring, may help protect cognition when gray matter declines. Led by @leonaksman.bsky.social and Yingxu Liu, the study analyzed 459 older adults in India. 📰 Read the press release: bit.ly/3U9QSxB

Our researchers, led by Lauren Salminen, found that exposure to air pollution was linked to different brain changes in Alzheimer's-vulnerable regions, depending on age and sex. Older women showed a thinner cortex. Younger men showed a thicker one, reversing around age 65. bit.ly/4cOfp1w

Air pollution linked to distinct brain changes in regions vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease

Related News Novel markers of brain blood flow and oxygenation may offer early clues to Alzheimer’s risk February 24, 2026 NIH investment totaling 30.7M will expand USC-led AI effort to […]

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📢 Our researchers developed an open-source MRI pipeline to make multicenter preclinical stroke studies more consistent. Tested on 2,442 mice and rats at six centers, it closely matched human experts and reduced scanner-related variation. Read more: bit.ly/4hDaTXb

USC researchers develop automated MRI system to strengthen stroke treatment studies

Related News Large-scale study of brain volume finds genetic links to Parkinson’s disease and ADHD October 21, 2024 USC team explores the nervous-system pathways that heighten endometriosis pain Novem...

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Bladder dysfunction affects approximately 30% of stroke survivors. Our very own Kay Jann, PhD, spoke with Diagnostic Imaging about using brain MRI to guide treatment for bladder dysfunction after stroke. 🧠 Check out the interview: bit.ly/45JQdFv

Can Brain MRI Help Predict Spinal Cord Stimulation Response for Treating Urinary Incontinence in Stroke Survivors? | Diagnostic Imaging

In a recent interview, Kay Jann, PhD, discussed challenges with urinary continence in stroke survivors and a forthcoming NIH-funded study examining the use of brain MRI to help identify those who may ...

diagnosticimaging.com

Depression may be linked to changes in a specific part of the brain’s memory center. Our researchers studied more than 2,000 cognitively healthy older adults and found that depression was associated with smaller volume in a hippocampal area important for retrieving memories. Read more bit.ly/4q9xmxe

Depression linked to smaller volume in key memory region of older adults

Related News Novel markers of brain blood flow and oxygenation may offer early clues to Alzheimer’s risk February 24, 2026 NIH investment totaling 30.7M will expand USC-led AI effort to […]

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Danny JJ Wang and his team developed an adaptive approach that uses quantum or conventional computing to help determine which MRI data to collect next. In simulations, the method produced clearer, more accurate brain images from substantially reduced data. Read the preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2607.21737

Journey through an entire mouse brain at exceptionally high resolution thanks to data from our very own @neuralmapping.bsky.social! Fluorescent labeling makes neurons glow green, while rapid 3D light-sheet microscopy allows researchers to image the whole brain in just a few hours.

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation's Research Partners Program has named Leila Nabulsi, PhD, the Jean Paul Ohadi Investigator with support from the Jean Paul Ohadi Memorial Foundation 🧠👏 Congratulations, Dr. Nabulsi!

Ravi is an outstanding postdoctoral fellow researching the neurobiology of chronic pain, comorbidities, psychiatric conditions, and genetics' role in brain development. Congrats, Ravi! 👏👏

Elizabeth is one of our NIH T32 postdocs. She's studying brain aging & dementia risk. Her research examines how vascular factors contribute to cognitive decline, considering modifiable elements like lifestyle & vascular risks, as well as unmodifiable factors such as sex, ethnicity, & genetics.

A look inside the brain’s communication network. Using diffusion tensor imaging, this animation visualizes major white matter pathways, including the cingulum and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, as they curve and intersect throughout the brain 🧠 🗺️

A tiny 1-millimeter cube of human brain tissue can contain tens of thousands of neurons and other structures. Our new animation explores Neuroglancer data from Google and the Allen Institute, using visualization techniques to reveal the complexity packed into microscopic brain tissue.

This 3D visualization maps pathways from the locus coeruleus to the transentorhinal cortex, a memory-related brain region affected early in Alzheimer’s disease.

Brain blood flow, in sharper detail 🧠👀 Our new animation compares 3T and 7T arterial spin labeling perfusion MRI, showing how ultra-high-field imaging can reveal fine-grained patterns that are harder to see with standard clinical MRI.

One size does not fit all in Alzheimer’s research. Using data from 17,000+ older adults, our team found that amyloid buildup, cognitive impairment, and APOE ε4 may interact differently in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white participants. Press release: bit.ly/3QNoQXg

Our NEW visualization highlights several major white matter pathways, including the arcuate fasciculus, cingulum, superior longitudinal fasciculus, and uncinate fasciculus. These bundles help support essential functions such as language, memory, attention, emotion, and cognition.

How is bipolar disorder reflected in the brain’s communication networks? Our new study in Biological Psychiatry used diffusion MRI and ENIGMA data from 16 international sites to map subtle but widespread brain network differences tied to illness severity and treatment exposure. bit.ly/4eaT6Dk

Our Spring Newsletter is here 🌱 Catch up on the latest, including new research on Alzheimer’s risk and stroke recovery, faculty honors, AI-driven discovery, student training, and more. Read the full issue: bit.ly/43hD7yb

The brain’s wiring changes across a lifetime. Now, we have a clearer map 🗺️ 🧠 In a study published in @nature.com Communications, our researchers built one of the largest models of white matter, helping detect brain changes linked to aging and disease. Learn how: bit.ly/4uEOb4o

Our digital, interactive 2025 Annual Report is live! This year’s report highlights our advancements in AI-powered brain research, imaging innovation, large-scale global collaborations, and training the next generation of neuroimaging and informatics leaders. Read the full report: bit.ly/4veK3YN

Throwback animation 👀 🧠 Dr. Kay Jann and his team found that people with Alzheimer’s show less complex brain activity at rest. This change was linked to higher tau buildup and poorer cognition, suggesting brain signal complexity could help detect and track AD earlier. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb8D...

ADNI fMRI and tau PET data measuring complexity of brain activity changes in Alzheimer's Disease

YouTube video by USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute

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After optic nerve injury, gentle electrical stimulation can help guide damaged nerve fibers as they regrow and reconnect with the brain. This research could help advance future treatments to repair neural connections damaged by disease or injury 👀 🧠 www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3xB...

Axon Regeneration After Optic Nerve Crush

YouTube video by USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute

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This animation shows blood flow in a patient with a grade IV glioblastoma. Using a 7T MRI technique called arterial spin labeling, we can see areas of uneven blood supply within the tumor. Regions with higher blood flow likely indicate faster-growing cancer.

Marco Ebeling will be conducting research on restoring vision using neurotechnology under the supervision of Drs. Eduardo Fernández and Gema Martínez-Navarrete at the Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche in Elche, Spain. Congratulations, Marco!!

👀 👀 Our 3D reconstruction from an MRI scan reveals the major pathways that connect different regions of the brain. The colors show the direction of each fiber bundle: red runs left to right, blue runs top to bottom, and green runs front to back.

@uscniin.bsky.social 560 students got a hands-on look at mouse brain anatomy and histology in the lab, learning how tissue preparation and microscopy can reveal the structures that shape brain function 🔬 🧠

🎉We're thrilled to share that NIIN instructor, @neuralmapping.bsky.social, was named a recipient of the 2026 USC Mentoring Award for Faculty Mentoring Graduate Students. This distinguished honor recognizes faculty members who go above and beyond to support students🧑‍🎓

We have a scan-do attitude today (and every day) 🧠 😎

📣 HABS-HD R8 measures for sMRI & amyloid and tau PET are now available on the LONI IDA! New from our lab: 🧠 Centiloids for global amyloid. 🧠 Tau SUVR in the mesial temporal lobe region we used to tau positivity (doi: 10.1162/IMAG.a.41). 🧠 Detailed analysis protocols. @uscini.bsky.social