Description
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has been implicated in thermoregulation and energy homeostasis. Sympathetic innervation is involved in BAT activation, but the brain regions controlling this autonomic output in humans are unknown. This study will measure BAT activation and levels of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) concurrently in healthy people during whole body cooling. BAT activation will be measured dynamically with PET FDG, and rCBF will be measured with arterial spin labelling images, which is a perfusion-fMRI technique. Levels of rCBF will be contrasted between periods immediately before and after BAT activation, as indicated by regional increases of PET FDG signal in the scapula/lower neck region (location of BAT tissue). Additionally, functional connectivity analyses will be performed with a seed based approach based on signals from the hypothalamus, which is a region likely to be involved in the control of BAT activity.
Essential criteria:
Minimum entry requirements can be found here: https://www.monash.edu/admissions/entry-requirements/minimum
Keywords
PET-MR fMRI thermoregulation energy-homeostasis neuroscience
School
School of Primary and Allied Health Care
Available options
PhD/Doctorate
Masters by research
Honours
Time commitment
Full-time
Top-up scholarship funding available
No
Physical location
Clayton Campus