The Alfredo Federico Strauss Center of Computational Neuroscience
MRI Scans
Longitudinal High-Field MRI Reveals Neural Plasticity and Connectivity Dynamics Across Critical Life Stages of the Bumblebee Queen
Bumblebees are keystone pollinators in natural and agricultural ecosystems, and the queen is the colony’s critical bottleneck: her survival through diapause and successful nest founding ultimately determine whether a colony exists at all. Here, we use high-field diffusion MRI (DTI) to quantify whole-brain connectivity across major queen life stages and relate these measurements to visual learning and memory across diapause. Importantly, because MRI is non-invasive, it can be used longitudinally to scan the same living individual multiple times, enabling direct tracking of neural plasticity across ecological transitions while minimizing between-individual variation. Despite its transformative role in vertebrate neuroscience, this approach remains underused in invertebrates; our work highlights MRI as a uniquely powerful, largely untapped tool with substantial potential to advance invertebrate neuroecology.
Shim System
The scanner is equipped with a B-GA12S HP gradient set (660 mT/m, 4570 T/m/s microsec risetime) and a B-GA12S HP shim system with 114.5/198 mm inner/outer diameter, shim coils providing z0, x, y, z, 2xy, x2-y2, z2, zx, zy, z3, z4 shims.
A variety of radiofrequency volume coils and surface coils are available for use with these gradient systems.
1.1H 86/112 mm inner/outer diameter
Quadrature transmit only volume coil with 2000W maximum transmit pulse of 5 ms.
Model T12053V3.
2.1H 72/112 mm inner/outer diameter
Quadrature transmit-recieve volume coil with 750W maximum transmit pulse of 5 ms.
Model T9562V3.
3.1H 23/55 mm inner/outer diameter
Transmit-receive volume coil with 200W maximum transmit pulse of 5 ms, matched-tuned.
Model T20063V3
4.1H 40/75 mm inner/outer diameter
Transmit-receive volume coil with 400W maximum transmit pulse of 5 ms
Model T1316V3.
5.1H receive-only 2 x 2 mouse brain surface array coil
Model T11765V3.
6.1H receive-only 2 x 2 rat brain surface array coil
Model T11483V3.
7.1H planar receive-only loop surface coils (model T116344) with inner diameters of 10 mm (model T115533) and 20 mm (model T115534).
The Scanner
The Bruker Biospec 7T/30 Scanner is capable a full diversity of modern neuroimaging including structural MRI, functional MRI, diffusion MRI (DTI),double pulsed-field gradient (DPFG), magnetization transfer, susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI), MR spectroscopy and many more. Most of the studies performed in the center are in vivo imaging of rat and mice using designed animal beds for each mice and rats with tooth bar, an artificial respiration mask and water circulation unit to regulate body temperature.
m (model T115534).
Additional Facilities
A surgical suite which includes a surgical microscope and a downdraft air exhaust table is located in the adjoining room. The surgery and magnet rooms are equipped with isoflurane gas anesthesia equipment. A dedicated Linux workstation operating the Bruker Paravision 6.0.1 software is available.