Optical Imaging of Cocaine-Induced Brain Dysfunction

Speaker:

Congwu Du, PhD

Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering

Stony Brook University

Abstract:

The broad goal of Dr. Du’s laboratory is to develop advanced optical instrumentation to detect and characterize physiological processes in living biological systems such as the brain and heart. In particular, her group advances optical spectroscopy and imaging techniques that permit simultaneous detection of cerebral blood flow, blood volume, and tissue oxygenation, as well as intracellular calcium in vivo. They are interested in studying drug-induced abnormalities of the brain function. For example, it is well-known that cocaine affects cerebral hemodynamics, metabolism, and neuronal activities in the brain. The mechanisms that underlie cocaine's neurotoxic effects are not fully understood, partially due to the technical limitations of current neuroimaging techniques, which cannot differentiate cerebrovascular from neuronal effects at high temporal and spatial resolutions To address this problem, her team has developed a multimodal imaging platform that combines multi-wavelength laser speckle imaging, optical coherence tomography, and calcium fluorescence imaging.  This enables simultaneous detection of cortical hemodynamics, cerebral metabolism, and neuronal activities in vivo, as well as its integration with microprobes for imaging neuronal function in deep brain regions in vivo. The latest results from small animal studies demonstrate that these novel multimodalities can be used to complement other neuroimaging modalities (e.g., PET, fMRI) for investigating brain functional changes induced by drugs of abuse.

Dr. Du earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the Medical University of Lübeck, Germany. Subsequently, she advanced her expertise in biophotonics through postdoctoral research at prestigious institutions, including the Univ. of Pennsylvania and Carnegie Mellon Univ.. In 2002, Professor Du joined Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University, where she rose to become a full professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Her work with the Center for Translational Neuroimaging, alongside leading figures like Dr. Nora Volkow, deepened her commitment to using neuroimaging techniques to investigate the complex effects of drugs on brain function. Her innovative research has been supported by major grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Energy (DOE).  Dr. Du’s leadership is underscored by numerous honors, including the NIH Cutting-Edge Basic Research Award and the DOE Outstanding Mentor Award.