Brain Imaging Laboratory

Principal Investigator

External collaborators

• Prof. Mike Yassa (University of California, Irvine, USA)
• Prof. Martijn van den Heuvel (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam)
• Joost Janssen (Gregorio Marañón Hospital, Madrid)
• Rafael Arnay del Arco (Contracted Professor with a PhD; Department of Computer and Systems Engineering, ULL)
• Javier Hernandez-Aceituno (Assistant Professor; Department of Computer and Systems Engineering, ULL)

PhD students and researchers in training

• Sara Lozano Seoane (Doctoral Program in Health Sciences, ULL. FPI Canary Agency for Research, Innovation and Information Society, ACIISI, 2019-2024)
• Uriel K. Arguinzones Elvira (Doctoral Program in Health Sciences, ULL, 2021-2025)
• Adrián Ramos Rodríguez (Doctoral Program in Health Sciences, ULL, 2021-2025.

Lines of research

We are working on developing new data analysis tools in neuroscience and their applications to understanding the brain, both in health and disease. To this end, we use computational and experimental approaches based on results from brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalography (EEG).

Over the past few years, laboratory work has focused on characterizing changes in the human brain related to normal and abnormal aging. Using magnetic resonance imaging, we have characterized changes in key brain areas involved in Alzheimer's disease, such as the medial temporal lobe, hippocampus, and amygdala, by comparing groups of healthy young adults, healthy older adults, and older adults at various stages of dementia. We have found evidence that abnormal aging produces specific changes in gray matter (atrophy), white matter (myelin), and function (functional connectivity). The overall goal of these studies is to improve diagnostic assessments and provide an empirical framework for subsequent preclinical animal studies.

Funded projects

• How normal aging, mild cognitive impairment, and lifestyle affect hippocampal subfields: A high-precision MRI study (PSI2017-84933). PI: Niels Janssen. Ministry of Science and Innovation (01/09/2022 – 31/08/2025, €96,800)

Other representative publications from recent years

• Hernández-Aceituno J, Arnay R, Hernandez G, Ezama L, Janssen N. Teaching the Virtual Brain. Journal of Digital Imaging. 2022 Dec;35(6):1599-1610. DOI: 10.1007/s10278-022-00652-5
• Elvira UK, Seoane S, Janssen J, Janssen N. Contributions of human amygdala nuclei to resting-state networks. PLOS ONE. 2022 Dec;17(12):e0278962. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278962
• Seoane S, Ezama L, Janssen N. Daily-life physical activity of healthy young adults associates with function and structure of the hippocampus. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 2022 Mar;16: 790359. DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.790359
• Seoane S, Modroño C, González-Mora JL, Janssen N. Medial temporal lobe contributions to resting-state networks. Brain Structure and Function. 2022 Jan;227(3):995-1012. DOI: 10.1007/S00429-021-02442-1
• Kho KH, Janssen N. Intermanual transfer in an artist with Parkinson's disease. Neurocase. 2016;22(1):119-21. DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2015.1053492
• Janssen N, Hernández-Cabrera JA, Foronda LE. Improving the signal detection accuracy of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. NeuroImage. 2018 Aug 1:176:92-109. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.01.076
• Janssen N, Hernandez JA, van der Meij M, Barber HA. Tracking the time course of competition during word production: Evidence for a post-retrieval mechanism of conflict resolution. Cerebral Cortex. 2015 Sep;25(9):2960-9. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhu092