The '
Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging'' at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
is a world-leading interdisciplinary centre for
neuroimaging
Neuroimaging is the use of quantitative (computational) techniques to study the structure and function of the central nervous system, developed as an objective way of scientifically studying the healthy human brain in a non-invasive manner. Incr ...
research based in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, United Kingdom. Researchers at the Centre use expertise to investigate how the human brain generates behaviour, thoughts and feelings and how to use this knowledge to help patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders. Human neuroimaging allows scientists to non-invasively investigate the brain structure and functions including Action, Decision Making, Emotion, Hearing, Language, Memory, Navigation, Seeing, Self awareness, Social Behaviour and the Bayesian Brain
The Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging is part of UCL'
Department for Imaging Neuroscience alongsid
The Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageingand Affiliated Principal Investigators (PIs).
The current team of researchers and support staff use their diverse and interdisciplinary skills to work collaboratively towards one shared goal: to use neuroimaging to understand and help patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders. Principal investigators working at the Centre include Professors John Ashburner, Dominik Bach, Gareth Barnes, Sven Bestmann,
Neil Burgess,
Martina Callaghan, Jenny Crinion, Â
Ray Dolan, Â Stephen Fleming,
Karl Friston
Karl John Friston FRS FMedSci FRSB (born 12 July 1959) is a British neuroscientist and theoretician at University College London. He is an authority on brain imaging and theoretical neuroscience, especially the use of physics-inspired stati ...
, Tim Griffiths, Alex Leff, Vladimir Litvak,
Eleanor Maguire
Eleanor Anne Maguire (born 27 March 1970) is an Irish neuroscientist. Since 2007, she has been Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London where she is also a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow.
Early life and educat ...
, Â Mairead MacSweeney, Tamar Makin, Â
Cathy Price
Catherine J. "Cathy" Price is a British neuroscientist and academic. She is a professor of cognitive neuroscience and director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London.
Her overarching research goal is to prov ...
,
Geraint Rees
Geraint Ellis Rees is Vice- Provost of research, innovation & global engagement at University College London (UCL). Previously he served as Dean of the UCL Faculty of Life Sciences, UCL Pro-Provost (Academic Planning), Pro-Vice-Provost (AI) and ...
, Jon Roiser;  and  Drs  Guillaume Flandin, Tobias Hauser, Quentin Huys, Peter Kok, Christian Lambert, Clare Press, Rimona Weil,  Elliot Wimmer and Peter Zeidman.
The centre is located at 12 Queen Square in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, adjacent to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
History
Over 25 years, th
Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaginghas pioneered innovation and applications in imaging neuroscience, addressed fundamental biological questions, and played a leading role in transforming cognitive and systems neuroscience. Since its founding in 1994, it has been led by a number of Directors:
1994: Wellcome Department for Cognitive Neurology
Founding Director:
Richard Frackowiak
Richard Stanislaus Joseph Frackowiak, born 26 March 1950 in London, is a British and French neurology, neurologist and neuroscientist. He is best known for his role in the development of neuroimaging, as the founding director of the Wellcome Cen ...
* Deputy:
Semir Zeki
Semir Zeki FMedSci FRS is a British and French neurobiologist who has specialised in studying the primate visual brain and more recently the neural correlates of affective states, such as the experience of love, desire and beauty that are ge ...
''Main focus: Addressing key questions about brain function and cognition.''
The Functional Imaging Laboratory (FIL) was founded in 1994 following a major award from the Wellcome Trust. It was incorporated within UCL's Institute of Neurology, as the Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology. The centre's early work pioneered and openly shared new neuroimaging techniques and analyses for understanding human cognition.
2002: Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging
Director:
Ray Dolan
* Scientific Director:
Karl Friston
Karl John Friston FRS FMedSci FRSB (born 12 July 1959) is a British neuroscientist and theoretician at University College London. He is an authority on brain imaging and theoretical neuroscience, especially the use of physics-inspired stati ...
''Main focus: Pioneering computational modelling approaches to neuroimaging.''
In 2006, following a successful bid for a Strategic Award, the laboratory was awarded Wellcome Trust Centre status (renewed in 2011), becoming the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging. A key development was computational models of behaviour that could be linked to dynamic brain activity. In 2014, the Max Planck-UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research was opened.
2015: Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging
Director:
Cathy Price
Catherine J. "Cathy" Price is a British neuroscientist and academic. She is a professor of cognitive neuroscience and director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London.
Her overarching research goal is to prov ...
* Previous Deputy:
Eleanor Maguire
Eleanor Anne Maguire (born 27 March 1970) is an Irish neuroscientist. Since 2007, she has been Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London where she is also a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow.
Early life and educat ...
* Current Deputy:
Martina Callaghan
''Main focus: Delivering clinically-transformative computational neuroimaging.''
Renamed the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging after funding renewal in an open competition, the focus of our mission is to pioneer the clinical translation of human neuroimaging.
Facilities
Th
Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging€™s diverse technical capabilities enable their researchers to conduct complex studies exploring both temporal and spatial brain activity with greater specificity.
In-house facilities include:
* 7T Siemens Terra
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner with parallel transmission capability.
* Two research-dedicated 3T Siemens TIM-Trio magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, one of which is additionally equipped with a prospective motion correction system.
* A CTF-Omega 275-channel
magnetoencephalography
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a functional neuroimaging technique for mapping brain activity by recording magnetic fields produced by electrical currents occurring naturally in the brain, using very sensitive magnetometers. Arrays of SQUIDs (s ...
(MEG) system.
* Purpose-built room for the use of optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs)
* A number of
electroencephalography (EEG) systems
* Several behavioural testing rooms enabling neuropsychological, psycho-pharmacological and
transcranial magnetic stimulation
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive form of brain stimulation in which a changing magnetic field is used to induce an electric current at a specific area of the brain through electromagnetic induction. An electric pulse gener ...
(TMS) studies.
* Well-developed systems for simultaneous TMS-fMRI.
To find out more about the scanning technology at the centre, please visit th
Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimagingwebsite.
See also
*
Statistical Parametric Mapping
References
External links
*
Wellcome Trust website
{{Authority control
Medical imaging organizations
Neuroimaging
Neuroscience research centres in the United Kingdom
Research institutes in London
University College London
Wellcome Trust