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Helene Benveniste, M.D, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, SUNY
at Stony Brook; Scientist, Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Dr. Benveniste (in collaboration with scientists at BNL and SUNY-SB)
is directing a multi-modality imaging initiative focused on understanding
how neural development, behavior and disease relate. Using a wide variety
of non-invasive imaging tools (microMRI, microCT, Optics and microPET),
physiology, transgenic animal models and non-human primates the laboratory
characterizes and defines anatomical, physiological and biochemical changes
in normal and diseased (addiction, Alzheimer’s, Aging) brains. For
example, we have recently used combined PET and MRI technology to non-invasively
characterize maternal-fetal transfer of substances of abuse (cocaine,
nicotine) in pregnant non-human primates.
Another interest of the laboratory is to identify the patho-physiological
and molecular origin of neuronal changes that occur during the process
of addiction and withdrawal. Recently we used optical techniques and physiology
to capture intracellular calcium transients, blood volume and oxygenation
changes in the brain during first time cocaine exposure. Calcium transients
have never before been recorded in vivo during cocaine exposure. The direction
of this work has fundamental implication in understanding the molecular
basis of addiction, withdrawal and relapse. The laboratory is also interested
in developing new non-invasive technology and now approaches to combine
imaging modalities that will facilitate the capture (and non-invasive)
of patho-physiology, anatomy and biochemical changes at the systems level
over a life time.
Contact Information
email:
url:
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