Although neuroscientists have made significant strides in understanding the brain, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about how the brain is organized. Moreover, in patients with brain tumors and/or lesions, there may be a reorganization of function to compensate for the disorder. Creating a “map” of a patient’s brain can show the specific brain areas responsible for critical cognitive functions, such as speech, motor skills and memory. This map is created by employing functional MRI (fMRI), Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and direct brain recording using electrocortical stimulation testing (ECS). Surgeons are able to use this map to delineate critical brain areas in an individual’s anatomy, thereby guiding removal of a tumor or lesion in the safest and most precise way possible.
Dr. Alexandra Golby is a neurosurgeon at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital where she leads a team of researchers working to advance surgical treatment options for brain tumor and epilepsy patients. By integrating complimentary data sources such as functional MRI (fMRI) and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DET), electrophysiology and segmentation, she is able to create 3D brain mapping images to assist clinical decision making and to better understand brain function. This translational research brings information learned in the laboratory directly to the clinical setting, providing more effective care for patients with brain disorders. Such novel research is a leading effort in the world. The unique multi-disciplinary studies performed in the Golby lab can only be performed in large hospital settings that have access to mutli-million dollar equipment and highly sophisticated surgical, computer science, engineering and imaging teams. Drastic improvements in brain surgery are on the horizon as Dr. Golby foresees a not-too-distant future when tumor surgery will be much less invasive and may not even require the need to open a patient’s head.
Dr. Golby has been recognized for the pioneering work she was able to conduct while being funded by the Brain Science Foundation. She has recently been selected to be a project leader in a NIH-funded grant supporting national resource center for image guided surgery. To learn more about her work that is funded by the Brain Science Foundation, which is dedicated to fast-forwarding research on meningioma and other primary brain tumors, click here.
For more information about this or other Golby Lab projects, please visit http://golbylab.bwh.harvard.edu.
