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A graphic of a translucent skull showing the brain landscape underneath
Brighton & Sussex Medical School

Imaging


Imaging

There is a vibrant cross-disciplinary programme of imaging research at BSMS. This work is supported through positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning facilities at the Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre and Nuclear Medicine at the Royal Sussex County Hospital (RSCH).

Neuroimaging is a particular strength, and specialist areas of study include:

  • neurobiology of consciousness and its disorders
  • affective neuroscience with emphasis on emotional arousal, visual perception and memory
  • neurodegenerative disorders and neuroimflammation
  • physiological and pathological processes particularly related to inflammation and lymphedema.

Our research into central and peripheral pain mechanisms complements clinical research imaging, including industry-sponsored trials both at CISC and RSCH.

Imaging science is supported by a strong physics team, led by Prof Mara Cercignani, who have pioneered quantitative imaging methods particularly as applied to the brain.

Someone about go go into an MRI scanner, the dr is holding the patients hand as they press the buttons on the machine

Our staff

Our cognitive and clinical neuroscientists include Dr Natasha Sigala, Prof Hugo Critchley, Dr Neil Harrison and Dr Nick Dowell.

Staff also lead functional and structural neuroimaging studies in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Sussex's School of Psychology and the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science, as well as the University of Brighton's Chelsea School.

There is a vibrant cross-disciplinary programme of imaging research at BSMS supported through PET and MRI facilities at the Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre and Nuclear Medicine at the Royal Sussex County Hospital (RSCH).

Quantitative MRI research film

MRI has become the most common method of imaging our bodies. While conventional MRI just takes pictures of our organs, quantitative MRI explores the properties of the tissues within them.

Professor Cercignani presents a short film profiling her research.