Dr Jason Berwick PhD, Bsc(Hons)
Address
Department of Psychology
The University of Sheffield
Sheffield
S10 2TN
UK
Tel: (+44) 0114 22 26597
Fax: (+44) 0114 27 66515
Room: 3-6
Qualifications
Bsc (Hons) Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Sheffield.
PhD Neuroscience, University of Sheffield
Research Interests
Understanding neurovascular coupling in health and disease
During the past two decades, blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has become the scientific technique of choice for investigating human brain function. It exploits the local alterations in blood flow produced by changes in neural activity, termed neurovascular coupling. However, BOLD fMRI does not measure neural activity directly and hence a fundamental problem exists: how to interpret BOLD signal changes and make inferences about the neural activity that generates them. This is far from straightforward because the mechanisms linking events that produce neural changes to BOLD signaling are highly complex. For example, increased BOLD activity in a vast range of tasks and experimental conditions is interpreted as indicating areas of increased neural activity. However, many neural circuits in the brain are inhibitory and little is known about what corresponding fMRI signals are generated. Would an inhibitory neural signal be expected to generated negative BOLD for example? Consequently, multi-modal experiments that directly compare different indicators of hemodynamic activity and electrophysiological measures of neural signals are necessary if BOLD contrast is to be correctly interpreted. My research group employs state of the art imaging and electrophysiological techniques to measure and under stand neurovascular coupling in normal function and in pathophysiological states.
Understanding the Negative BOLD signal
Despite the uncertainties above scientists are starting to use FMRI to infer decreases in brain activity and if this inference is correct their studies suggest that the majority of psychiatric (e.g. schizophrenia, major depressive disorder), neuro-developmental (e.g. Autism) neurological (e.g. Alzheimer’s) brain diseases are characterised an inability to ‘turn-off’ rather ‘turn-on’ specific brain regions during mental tasks. By directly measuring reductions brain activity, neuroimaging signals and blood oxygen content at the same time we hope to understand the relationships between them and allow this vital aspect of neuroimaging to further our understanding of brain function and its malfunction in disease states.
Neurovascular coupling and Epilepsy
Epilepsy is the most common neurological condition in the UK, affecting 1 – 2 % of the population. Epilepsies often involve only a small area of the brain - the epileptic focus – and the abnormal activity can propagate out from there. Although surgery is often curative in epilepsy, effective intervention relies on the correct identification of the location of the epileptic focus. Current pre-operative techniques are of limited use in this regard, but the new generation of imaging techniques based on changes in blood perfusion of active areas offer great promise. However, we currently have very little understanding of how epilepsy affects the relationship of neurovascular coupling. Our research will use state of the art techniques to characterise, define and measure the relationship between activity and perfusion in the epileptic state. We will also assess whether any long term changes in this relationship persist after epileptic activity, and whether antiepileptic medication can return the relationship to normal. The research we propose will develop the use of imaging techniques as a tool for pre-surgical localization of epileptic foci in epilepsy and ultimately improve outcomes for surgical interventions on human epilepsy patients.
Management Responsibilities
I am responsible for the management of the Department’s core small bore fMRI facility. This consists of day to day running of facility developing collaborations and liaising with external clients about performing research within the laboratory. I am also the Neuroimaging section leader on the EPSRC Nanotechnology grant.
Research Grants
2011-2014 MRC & BBSRC. The neurophysiological basis of negative BOLD signals – Berwick J (PI), Jones M, Kennerley A, Boorman L, Martin C, Redgrave P, Zheng Y. £655K
2011-2014 Wellcome Trust. Understanding Epilepsy in the active brain - Berwick J (PI), Overton PG, Schwartz T, Kennerley A, Ma H, Zhao M. ~£523K
2009- 2012 EPSRC. "Engineering virus-like nanoparticles for targeting the central nervous system". G Battaglia (PI), S P. Armes, M. Azzouz, O. Bandmann, J. Berwick, P.G. Ince , A.J. Kennerley, M. Jones, R. Golestanian, R. Hose, R. Mead, K. Ning, A.J. Ryan, P. Shaw, R. Smallwood, D. Walker & Y. Zheng. £ 2,060,808.
2007 – 2010 MRC New Investigator Award.‘Neurovascular Coupling under the microscope’ – Principal Investigator £415K
2008 New Investigator travel award to the Gordon Research conference of Cerebral blood flow and metabolism, Proctor academy, New Hampshire £1000.
Post-Doctoral Research Associates
Dr Sam Harris (Wellcome Trust)
Dr Luke Boorman (MRC and BBSRC)
Dr Paul Sharp (EPSRC Nanotech)
Activities and Distinctions
Reviewer for
• MRC
• BBSRC
• The French National Research Agency
• Swiss National Science foundation
• Brain Research
• Journal of Neuroscience
• Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism
• European Journal of Neuroscience
• Journal of Neurophysiology
• NeuroImage
• Human Brain Mapping Conference
• Applied Optics
• Frontiers in Neuroenergetics
• Journal of Neuroscience Methods
• Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
• Cold Spring Harbour Protocols
• Journal of biomedical optics
Invited Talks and Lectures
Why perform simultaneous NIRS and fMRI? (October 2010) Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy Workshop, Center for Brain Sciences, Harvard University, Boston, USA
What are the underlying neural and hemodynamic signal sources of the negative BOLD signal? (July 2010): Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC) School of Psychology. Cardiff University
Investigating the neural and hemodynamic signal sources of the negative BOLD signal (May 2010) Laboratoire de Neurobiologie ESPCI PARSITECH, Paris
The use of multimodal techniques to advance the understanding of neurovascular coupling. (Jan 2010). UK-Japan workshop on Multimodal Methods for Monitoring Brain Function, British Embassy, Tokyo.
The use of multimodal techniques to advance the understanding of neurovascular coupling (October 2009). Inter-Institue workshop on optical diagnostic and biophotonic methods from bench to bedside. National Institues of Health, Bethesda, USA
Neurovascular Coupling (Sept 2009). ESMRMB Lectures on MR, Tuebingen, Germany
Negative BOLD in rat somatosensory cortex. (October 2008). Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France
Neurovascular coupling investigated with 2-dimensional optical imaging spectroscopy in rat barrel cortex. (June 2007). UCL Centre for Neuroimaging Techniques.
Spatio-temporal analysis of the hemodynamic response reveals fine detail of neurovascular coupling. (April 2006) National Institute of Health, Washington DC, USA
Linearities and nonlinearities of neuro-hemodynamic coupling (August 2006) - Gordon Research Conference, Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, Magdalen College, Oxford University.
Research Publications
Boorman L, Kennerley AJ, Johnston D, Jones M, Zheng Y, Redgrave P and Berwick J (2010) Negative blood oxygen level dependence in the rat: A model for investigating the role of suppression in neurovascular coupling. Journal of Neuroscience,12: 4285-4294
Bruyns-Haylett M , Zheng Y , Berwick J and Jones M. (2010) Temporal coupling between stimulus-evoked neural activity and hemodynamic responses from individual cortical columns. Phys. Med. Biol. 55, 2203-2219
Harris S, Jones M, Zheng Y and Berwick J (2010) Does neural input or processing play a greater role in the magnitude of neuroimaging signals?. Front. Neuroenerg. 4:15. doi:10.3389/fnene.2010.00015
Kennerley, A.J., Mayhew, J.E., Berwick, J. (2010) Vascular Weightings of BOLD and CBV fMRI signals: A direct comparison of statistical mapping and histological sections. The Open Journal of NeuroImaging, 4: 1:8
Saka M, Berwick J and Jones M (2010) Linear superposition of sensory-evoked and ongoing cortical hemodynamics. Front. Neuroenerg. doi:10.3389/fnene.2010.00023
Zheng Y, Pan Y, Harris S, Billings S, Coca D, Berwick J, Jones M, Kennerley A, Johnston D, Martin C, Devonshire IM, Mayhew J (2010) A dynamic model of neurovascular coupling: Implications for blood vessel dilation and constriction. Neuroimage, 52 (2010) 1135–1147.
Kennerley AJ, Berwick J, Martindale J, Johnston D, Zheng Y, Mayhew JE (2009) Refinement of optical imaging spectroscopy algorithms using concurrent BOLD and CBV fMRI. Neuroimage 47, 4, 1608-1619.
Berwick, J., Johnston, D., Jones, M., Martindale, J., Martin, C., Kennerley, AJ., Redgrave, P., Mayhew, JE., (2008). Fine detail of neurovascular coupling revealed by spatiotemporal analysis of the hemodynamic response to single whisker stimulation in rat barrel cortex. Journal of Neurophysiology, 99: 787-798
Jones, M. Devonshire, I. M. Berwick, J. Martin, C. Redgrave, P. Mayhew, J. (2008). Altered neurovascular coupling during information-processing states." Eur J Neurosci. 27, 10, 2758 – 2772
Gias, C.,Jones, M., Keegan, D., Adamson, P., Greenwood, J., Lund, R., Martindale, J., Johnston, D., Berwick, J., Mayhew, J., Coffey, P., (2007). Preservation of visual cortical function following retinal pigment epithelium transplantation in the RCS rat using optical imaging techniques. Euro J Neurosci 25:1940-1948.
Martin, C., Martindale, J., Berwick, J. and Mayhew, J., (2006). Investigating neural hemodynamic coupling and the hemodynamic response function in the awake rat. NeuroImage. 32: 33:48.
Berwick, J., Devonshire, I. M., Martindale, A. J., Johnston, D., Zheng, Y., Kennerley, A. J., Overton, P.G. and Mayhew, J. E. (2005). Cocaine administration produces a protracted decoupling of neural and haemodynamic responses to intense sensory stimuli. Neuroscience 132(2): 361-74.
Berwick, J. Johnston, D., Jones, M., Martindale, J., Redgrave, P., McLoughlin, N., Schiessl, I., and Mayhew, JEW (2005). Neurovascular coupling investigated with 2-dimensional optical imaging spectroscopy in rat whisker barrel cortex. European Journal of Neuroscience. 22(7): 1655-66.
Hewson-Stoate, N., Jones, M., Martindale, J., Berwick, J. and Mayhew, J. (2005) Further non-linearities in neuro-vascular coupling in rodent barrel cortex. NeuroImage, 24: 565-74.
Jones, M., Berwick, J., Hewson-Stoate, N., Gias, C. and Mayhew, J.E (2005). The effect of hypercapnia on the neural and hemodynamic responses to somatosensory stimulation. Neuroimage 27(3): 609:623
Kennerley, A.J., Berwick, J., Martindale, A.J., Johnston, D., Papadakis, N. and Mayhew, J.E. (2005). Concurrent fMRI and Optical Measures for the Investigation of the Haemodynamic Response Function. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. 4(2): 354:365.
Martindale, J., Berwick, J., Martin, C., Kong, Y., Zheng, Y. and Mayhew, J.E. (2005). Long duration stimuli and nonlinearities in the neural–haemodynamic coupling. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism 25, 651-661.
Papadakis, N. G., Smponias T., Berwick, J. and Mayhew, J.E. (2005). k-space correction of eddy-current-induced distortions in diffusion-weighted echo-planar imaging. Magn Reson Med 53(5): 1103-11.
Zheng, Y., Johnston, D., Berwick, J., Chen, D., Billings, S., Mayhew, J. (2005). A three-compartment model of the hemodynamic response and oxygen delivery to brain. NeuroImage 28: 925-939.
Berwick J., Redgrave, P., Jones, M., Martindale, J., Hewson-Stoate, N., Johnston, D. and Mayhew, J. (2004). Integration of neural responses originating from different regions of the cortical somatosensory map. Brain Research, 1030: 284-93.
Devonshire, I.M., Berwick, J., Jones, M., Martindale, J., Johnston, D., Overton, P.G. and Mayhew, J.E. (2004). Haemodynamic responses to sensory stimulation are enhanced following acute cocaine administration. NeuroImage 22: 1744-53.
Martindale, J., Mayhew, J., Berwick, J., Jones, M., Martin, C., Johnston, D., Redgrave, P. and Zheng, Y. 2003. The hemodynamic impulse response to a single neural event. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 23: 546-55.
Berwick, J., Martin, C., Martindale, J., Jones, M., Johnston, D., Zheng, Y., Redgrave, P. and Mayhew, J. 2002. Hemodynamic response in the unanesthetized rat: intrinsic optical imaging and spectroscopy of the barrel cortex. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 22: 670-9.
Jones, M., Berwick, J. and Mayhew, J. 2002. Changes in blood flow, oxygenation, and volume following extended stimulation of rodent barrel cortex. Neuroimage 15: 474-87.
Martin, C., Berwick, J., Johnston, D., Zheng, Y., Martindale, J., Port, M., Redgrave, P. and Mayhew, J. 2002. Optical imaging spectroscopy in the unanaethetised rat. J Neurosci Methods 120: 25-34.
Zheng, Y., Martindale, J., Johnston, D., Jones, M., Berwick, J. and Mayhew, J. 2002. A model of the hemodynamic response and oxygen delivery to brain. Neuroimage 16: 617-37.
Jones, M., Berwick, J., Johnston, D. and Mayhew, J. 2001. Concurrent optical imaging spectroscopy and laser-Doppler flowmetry: the relationship between blood flow, oxygenation, and volume in rodent barrel cortex. Neuroimage 13: 1002-15.
Mayhew, J., Johnston, D., Martindale, J., Jones, M., Berwick, J. and Zheng, Y. 2001. Increased oxygen consumption following activation of brain: theoretical footnotes using spectroscopic data from barrel cortex. Neuroimage 13: 975-87.
Zheng, Y., Johnston, D., Berwick, J. and Mayhew, J. 2001. Signal source separation in the analysis of neural activity in brain. Neuroimage 13: 447-58.
Martindale, J., Berwick, J., Johnston, D., Jones, M., Zheng, Y., Coffey, P., Paley, M. and Mayhew, J. 2000. Pseudo-random procedures for rapid presentation rates using optical imaging and spectroscopy. Neuroreport 11: 2247-52.
Mayhew, J., Johnston, D., Berwick, J., Jones, M., Coffey, P. and Zheng, Y. 2000. Spectroscopic analysis of neural activity in brain: increased oxygen consumption following activation of barrel cortex. Neuroimage 12: 664-75.
Mayhew, J., Zheng, Y., Hou, Y., Vuksanovic, B., Berwick, J., Askew, S. and Coffey, P. 1999. Spectroscopic analysis of changes in remitted illumination: the response to increased neural activity in brain. Neuroimage 10: 304-26.
Mayhew, J., Hu, D., Zheng, Y., Askew, S., Hou, Y., Berwick, J., Coffey, P.J. and Brown, N. 1998a. An evaluation of linear model analysis techniques for processing images of microcirculation activity. Neuroimage 7: 49-71.
Mayhew, J., Zhao, L., Hou, Y., Berwick, J., Askew, S., Zheng, Y. and Coffey, P. 1998b. Spectroscopic investigation of reflectance changes in the barrel cortex following whisker stimulation. Adv Exp Med Biol 454: 139-48.