Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

There are two key properties that shape how billions of brain cells (neurons) work together to create sensory experiences, actions, thoughts, and behaviors: how often neurons generate electrical activity and how easily they are excited (i.e., their readiness to respond to internal or external stimuli). These two properties change and fluctuate together, driving O2 consumption in the brain. Our research team is focused on understanding how these dynamics work and how they interact. To achieve this, we use various brain-imaging and brain-stimulation techniques, such as electroencephalography (EEG) to measure electrical activity, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure O2 consumption, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which is crucial for measuring brain excitability non-invasively. TMS uses brief magnetic pulses to stimulate areas of the brain, and we can measure excitability based on how the brain responds -whether through behavior, electrical signals (via EEG), or brain imaging (via fMRI). Our goal is to use TMS to both measure and influence brain excitability, while capturing the brain's electrical and blood flow responses using EEG and fMRI. While we have access to advanced MRI and EEG equipment, we currently lack a TMS system, which is a major limitation for our NSERC-funded research and negatively impact the career opportunities of the skilled personnel involved in our research. This project would equip us with TMS technology that is fully compatible with the neuroimaging equipment already available at our centre and allows the most advanced procedures to measure and change brain excitability, including repetitive and patterned TMS. Our team consists of nine NSERC-sponsored PIs from multiple fields of natural science and engineering who share a common interest in this research topic. Overall, this equipment will benefit more than 50 researchers from various fields, including neurobiology, physics, psychology, and clinical neuroscience. We are confident that adding TMS to our research toolkit will position us as leaders in studying brain function, with exciting new insights into brain physiology and potential real-world applications. We have extensive experience using TMS in combination with other techniques, ensuring that the researchers and students working with this equipment will be well-trained. This training will bridge different areas of neuroscience, encouraging collaboration among researchers and trainees. We are proudly committed to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) both at Western and in our daily lives. In summary, we emphasize the urgent need for a TMS system to support groundbreaking neuroscience research and to continue our mission of training highly qualified personnel (HQP).