The CENIR platform specializes in neuroimaging and neurophysiology. It provides the Institute’s research teams with six pieces of equipment essential for studying pathologies and understanding normal brain function:
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides multiple high-quality images of brain structure and function in two or three dimensions for brain and spinal cord research;
- PET-MRI enables simultaneous positron emission tomography (PET) and MRI. PET uses the injection of a tracer to study cerebral metabolism or the presence of certain molecules in the brain;
- Electroencephalography (EEG) collects electric fields on the surface of the skull to obtain information on the electrical functioning of the brain;
- Magnetoencephalography (MEG) collects magnetic fields of cerebral origin on the surface of the skull. EEG and MEG allow exploration of visual, auditory and sensory cognitive modalities;
- Transcranial electrical or magnetic stimulation, in particular transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), to study excitatory, inhibitory or plasticity phenomena associated with motor, sensory or cognitive behavior;
- Stereotactic imaging (three-dimensional mapping of internal brain structures), used for deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease, for example, but also in drug-resistant epilepsy.
- Transcranial focused ultrasound is used for stereotactic surgery to treat pathologies, to open the blood-brain barrier for targeted drug delivery, and to modulate brain activity.
Scientific director: Stéphane LEHERECY
Operational manager: Eric BARDINET