Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

Investigating The Cortical, Metabolic And Behavioral Effects Of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation In Preparation For Combined Rehabilitation, Kayla N. Ryan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The goal of this thesis was to determine the cortical reorganization that occurs in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) after surgical decompression and to implement this knowledge into a new rehabilitation strategy. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive technique to modulate human behavior. Due to the novel electrode montage used, it was first pertinent that we determine how tDCS would modulate cortical, metabolic and motor behavior in healthy individuals.

We observed the longitudinal functional adaptations that occur in patients with CSM using functional MRI. Enhanced excitation of supplementary motor area (SMA) was observed following surgical decompression and …

Hyperpolarized 129xe Magnetic Resonance Imaging Of Radiation-Induced Lung Injury, Ozkan Doganay

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Lung cancer is the largest contributor to cancer-related mortality worldwide. Only 20% of stage III non-small cell lung cancer patients survive after 5-years post radiation therapy (RT). Although RT is an important treatment modality for lung cancer, it is limited by Radiation-Induced Lung Injury (RILI). RILI develops in two phases: (i) the early phase (days-weeks) referred to radiation pneumonitis (RP), and (ii) the late phase (months). There is a strong interest in early detection of RP using imaging to improve outcomes of RT for lung cancer. This thesis describes a promising approach based on ¹²⁹Xe gas as a contrast …