Neuroimaging at the IoPPN is world-renowned. The Department of Neuroimaging is embedded in the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, a joint venture between the IoPPN and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM). The Centre provides, under one roof, an interdisciplinary research environment that combines the development of high resolution structural, functional and metabolic mapping techniques, with expertise in the definition, diagnosis and treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders. By early 2018 the CNS will house 2 research-dedicated MRI scanners plus a 3rd used jointly for research and clinical studies; all three scanners, along with another in the adjacent NIHR Wellcome Trust King's Clinical Research Facility, have a field strength of 3T, and are capable of performing functional, spectroscopic, anatomical and pathological mapping techniques. A 9.4T pre-clinical MRI system is based at the James Black centre on the Denmark Hill Campus. Current research projects span neurodegeneration, epilepsy, stroke, pain, psychosis, affective disorders, developmental disorders and normal brain function, using a battery of neuroimaging techniques which include perfusion, diffusion, functional and structural imaging. Complementary research in imaging physics and analysis supports these applications, and the PhD program supports both image acquisition and analysis, and application driven, research projects. Basic scientific research is also performed in models of neuropsychiatric disease, again using a diverse array of neuroimaging techniques, including pharmacological MRI and spectroscopy techniques. In conjunction with non-MR methods such as microscopy and autoradiography, this multifaceted approach enhances our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying disease and informs the development of novel therapeutic interventions. In addition, improved understanding of the biological processes that underlie MR signal changes advances the crucial role of MR in non-invasive assessment of neuropsychiatric disease.
