Greetings from the MCWG!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for May’s MCOS with Simon Eickhoff, PhD! Missed it? The recording is available here.
June 24-28, 2025
Heading to the Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) 2025 in Brisbane?
We’ve put together a list of events and presentations showcasing recent advances in molecular connectivity.
We hope to see you there!
🧠 Keynote Presentation
Sharna Jamadar, PhD
Glucodynamics and the metabolic network of the human brain
🗓 June 28 | ⏰ 10:30–11:15
🧠 Symposium: Relationship between Brain Energy Consumption and Brain Organizations
Organizer: Xin Di
🗓 June 27 | ⏰ 9:00–10:15
Featured Talks:
🧠 Symposium: Validating brain connectivity measures: integrating biological, statistical, and clinical evidence
Organizers: Chris Habeck, Arianna Sala, Daniel Talmasov, Vesna Sossi
Moderators: James Pang, Felix Hoffstaedter
🗓 June 27 | ⏰ 15:45–17:00
Featured Talks:
🧠 Oral Presentation
Mengyuan Liu
Unveiling the biological substrates of glucose metabolic covariance in the human brain
🗓 June 28 | ⏰ 11:42–11:54
📝 Featured Abstract
Power and Discordance of Exercise Intervention on Parkinson’s Disease fMRI Functional Connectivity
Authors: Erik Reimers, Connor W. J. Bevington, Jess McKenzie, Sahib Dhaliwal, A. Jon Stoessl, Vesna Sossi
2nd – 4th July 2025 • Edinburgh, UK
Featuring two days Education Workshop and one day Scientific meeting on PET. Highlights include an educational session on Network analysis and radiomics in total-body PET imaging by Dr. Thomas Beyer. More information about the event click here.
📝 Glucose metabolism in hyper-connected regions predicts neurodegeneration and speed of conversion in Alzheimer’s disease
Longitudinal analysis of brain metabolic connectivity on neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease. Read the full study in Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging.
Key Findings:
📝 Innate [18F]Fluorodeoxyglucose PET bone networks of lung cancer patients predict survival
Newly proposed network analysis performs better than conventional SUV PET analysis, and should be considered as a prognostication tool in the management of NSCLC patients. Read the full study in Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging.
Key Findings:
📝 Mapping serotonergic dynamics using drug-modulated molecular connectivity in rats
Brain molecular connectivity was measured using combined serotonin PET and resting-state fMRI providing insights into the effects of ecstasy administration. Read the full study in Neuroscience eLife.
Key Findings:
📝 Multiplex connectomics reveal altered networks in frontotemporal dementia: A multisite study
A recent multisite study employed an innovative multiplex connectomics framework integrating cortical thickness and FDG-PET data to uncover how brain networks are disrupted in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). An employed dual-layer approach provides a new lens to understand neurodegenerative disease mechanisms. Read the full study in Network Neuroscience.
Key Findings:
📝 Single-Subject Network Analysis of FDOPA PET in Parkinson’s Disease and Psychosis Spectrum
In this study, a statistical framework was proposed combining molecular imaging data with perturbation covariance analysis to construct single-subject networks and investigate individual patterns of molecular alterations. Mapping molecular imaging networks presents a new and powerful method for characterizing individualized disease trajectories as well as for evaluating treatment effectiveness. Read the full study in Hum Brain Mapp.
Key Findings:
📝 Fully automated estimation of fMRI-guided SPECT brain networks and their functional network connectivity in schizophrenia patients versus controls: A NeuroMark ICA approach
In this study, a fully automated, spatially constrained ICA (sc-ICA) approach to evaluate functional network connectivity profiles in SPECT data using the NeuroMark pipeline was presented. The expression of brain networks along with the whole brain SPECT connectome to evaluate neuroimaging links to schizophrenia were evaluated. Read the full study in Aperture Neuro.
Key Findings:
The MCOS promotes rigor in research and resource sharing. We aim to hold MCOS every third Friday of the month, subject to change due to speaker availability.
Please stay tuned for MCOS updates and reminders on social media!
Thank you!
The MCWG Outreach Council invites you to submit announcements or information about papers, conferences, presentations or other events or news related to brain and molecular connectivity as well as any positions available or job opportunities that you wish to publicize and share with the community!
Please submit any material for consideration by the final day of each month using this form – thank you!
The MCWG is made up of four international and multidisciplinary councils dedicated to promoting molecular connectivity research via dissemination of methods, results, collaboration, and resource sharing (e.g. datasets, tools) within the scientific community. We encourage the neuroscientific community to take an integrative perspective in study of the brain connectome, where various methods including MRI-based techniques, electrophysiological tools, and molecular imaging advance our understanding of the brain. Please find fundamental questions outlined here: “Brain connectomics: time for a molecular imaging perspective?”
Our website can be found here. We also invite you to join the MCWG!
