School of Psychology

Research Summary

The main aim of CUBRIC is to develop imaging methodology to improve characterization of brain structure and function in health and disease.  My research focuses on maximizing the amount of quantitative information that can be extracted about brain structure non-invasively using magnetic resonance imaging techniques.  If the grey matter acts as the ‘service stations’ – then the white matter acts as the ‘motorways’ and hence forms an integral and fundamental part of brain networks. My research has been primarily focussed on development of methods for diffusion magnetic resonance imaging and its application to both healthy and diseased states, but we are extending the range of imaging methods to include multi-component relaxometry and quantitative magnetization transfer imaging, with the aim of providing a more complete multi-spectral characterization of white matter.  We are now combining these metrics with electrophysiological data derived from MEG.

Teaching Summary

In the University, I teach formally on lecture course PS3209 – ‘Structural and Functional Neuroimaging’, which introduces the range of techniques that are used for mapping the structure and function of the human brain.  My part of the course focuses on mapping brain structure, and includes methods for analysis of standard structural MRI data, as well as of diffusion MRI data. 

I also teach at the postgraduate level on the use of diffusion MRI.  Formal courses are held throughout the year and cover both theoretical aspects of diffusion MRI as well as practical ‘hands on’ sessions with software developed in CUBRIC.

Finally, I am a regular lecturer at international brain imaging conferences (notably the International Society for Magnetic Resonance In Medicine, and the ESMRMB Lectures on Diffusion).

Selected Publications (2008 onwards)

Jones DK, Cercignani M. 25 pitfalls in the analysis of diffusion tensor MRI data. NMR in Biomedicine (in press)

Sundaram F, Campbell LE, Azuma R, Daley E, Bloemen OJN, Barker GJ, Chitnis X, Jones DK, van Amelsvoort T, Murphy KC, Murphy DGM. White matter microstructure in 22q11 deletion syndrome: a pilot diffusion tensor imaging and voxel-based morphometry study of children and adolescents. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (in press)

Jeurissen B, Leemans A, Jones DK, Tournier J-D, Sijbers J. Probabilistic tractography using the residual bootstrap with constrained super-resolved spherical harmonic deconvolution.  Human Brain Mapping (in press)

Lombardo MV, Chakrabarti B, Bullmore ET, Wheelwright SJ, Sadek SA, Suckling J, Baron-Cohen S, MRC AIMS Consortium. Shared neural circuits for mentalizing about the self and others. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (in press)

Muthukumaraswamy S, Singh KD, Swettenham JB, Jones DK. 2010. Visual Gamma Oscillations and Evoked Responses: Variability, repeatability and structural MRI correlates. NeuroImage 49: 3349-3357

Kanaan R, Borgwardt S, McGuire P, Craig M, Murphy D, M Picchioni M, Shergill S, Jones DK, Catani M. 2009. Microstructural organization of cerebellar tracts in schizophrenia. Biological Psychiatry 66: 1067-1079

Ecker C, Rocha-Rego V, Johnston P, Mourao-Miranda J, Marquand A, Daly EM, Brammer MJ, Murphy C, Murphy DG; MRC AIMS Consortium. Investigating the predictive value of whole-brain structural MR scans in autism: a pattern classification approach. NeuroImage. 2010 49: 44-56

Leemans A, Jones DK. 2009.  The B-matrix must be rotated when motion correcting diffusion tensor imaging data. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 61: 1336-1349

Muthukumaraswamy SD, Edden RA, Jones DK, Swettenham JB, Singh KD. 2009. Resting GABA concentration predicts peak gamma frequency and fMRI amplitude in response to visual stimulation in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.106: 8356-61

Kontis D, Allin M, Catani M, Cuddy M, Walshe M, Jones DK, Wyatt J, Rifkin L, Murray R. 2009. Diffusion tensor MRI of the corpus callosum and cognitive function in adults born preterm NeuroReport 20:424-428.

Jones DK. 2008.  Tractography gone wild: probabilistic fibre tracking using the wild bootstrap with diffusion tensor MRI. IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging 27:1268-1274. [pdf]

Jones DK. 2008. Studying connections in the living human brain with diffusion MRI Cortex 44:936-52. [pdf]

Catani M, Jones DK, Daly E, Embiricos N, Deeley Q, Pugliese L, Curran S, Robertson D, Murphy D. 2008. Altered cerebellar feedback projections in Asperger syndrome. NeuroImage 41:1184-91.

Deoni SCL, Rutt BK, Pierpaoli C, Jones DK. 2008. Gleaning multi-component T₁­ and T₂ information from steady-state imaging data. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 60:1372-1387.

Deoni SCL, Williams SC, Jezzard P, Suckling J, Murphy DG, Jones DK. 2008. Standardized Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Multicenter Studies using Quantitative T1 and T2 Imaging at 1.5T. NeuroImage 40:662-71.

Deoni SCL, Rutt BK, Jones DK. 2008. Investigating exchange and multi-component relaxation in fully-balanced steady-state free precession imaging. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging 27:1421-9.