
Neuroscience
In vivo structural and molecular neuroimaging

The research projects of the Unit include molecular neuroimaging with PET, structural and functional neuroimaging with MRI with the aim to investigate in vivo the pathophysiology of neurological diseases and the neural correlates of cognitive functions in the norm and in diseases. This is a complex research field allowing the measurement of functional and biochemical brain processes such as glucose metabolism, neurotransmission systems, the burden of pathology as amyloid and tau protein, and neuroinflammation.
The application of PET/MRI techniques provides evidence of the brain system anatomy, function and connectivity, of brain plasticity and reserve, and the effects of brain aging, particularly for the molecular PET imaging, we can obtain supportive features for the early and differential diagnosis of neurodegenerative dementias. The research Unit is part of several national and international multicentric projects and is part of European Networks of Excellence.
Malpetti M, Sala A, Vanoli EG, Gianolli L, Luzi L, Perani D. Unfavourable gender effect of high body mass index on brain metabolism and connectivity. Sci Rep. 2018 Aug 22;8(1):12584.
Iaccarino L, Sala A, Caminiti SP, Santangelo R, Iannaccone S, Magnani G, Perani D.The brain metabolic signature of visual hallucinations in dementia with Lewy bodies. Cortex. 2018 Nov;108:13-24.
Ghio M, Locatelli M, Tettamanti A, Perani D, Gatti R, Tettamanti M. Cognitive training with action-related verbs induces neural plasticity in the action representation system as assessed by gray matter brain morphometry. Neuropsychologia. 2018 Jun;114:186-194.
Cerami C, Dodich A, Iannaccone S, Magnani G, Santangelo R, Presotto L, Marcone A, Gianolli L, Cappa SF, Perani D. A biomarker study in long-lasting amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2018 Apr 25;10(1):42.
Pilotto A, Premi E, Paola Caminiti S, Presotto L, Turrone R, Alberici A, Paghera B, Borroni B, Padovani A, Perani D. Single-subject SPM FDG-PET patterns predict risk of dementia progression in Parkinson disease. Neurology. 2018 Mar 20;90(12):e1029-e1037
Caminiti SP, Ballarini T, Sala A, Cerami C, Presotto L, Santangelo R, Fallanca F, Vanoli EG, Gianolli L, Iannaccone S, Magnani G, Perani D; BIOMARKAPD Project. FDG-PET and CSF biomarker accuracy in prediction of conversion to different dementias in a large multicentre MCI cohort. Neuroimage Clin. 2018 Jan 28;18:167-177.
Iaccarino L, Presotto L, Bettinardi V, Gianolli L, Roiter I, Capellari S, Parchi P, Cortelli P, Perani D. An in vivo 11C-PK PET study of microglia activation in Fatal Familial Insomnia. Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2017 Dec 9;5(1):11-18.
Dodich A, Carli G, Cerami C, Iannaccone S, Magnani G, Perani D Social and cognitive control skills in long-life occupation activities modulate the brain reserve in the behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia. Cortex. 2018 Feb;99:311-318.
Manes M, Alberici A, Di Gregorio E, Boccone L, Premi E, Mitro N, Pasolini MP, Pani C, Paghera B, Perani D, Orsi L, Costanzi C, Ferrero M, Zoppo A, Tempia F, Caruso D, Grassi M, Padovani A, Brusco A, Borroni B. Docosahexaenoic acid is a beneficial replacement treatment for spinocerebellar ataxia. Ann Neurol. 38 2017 Oct;82(4):615-621
Tettamanti M, Conca F, Falini A, Perani D. Unaware processing of tools in the neural system for object-directed action representation. J Neurosci. 2017 Oct 4. : 1061-17.
Iaccarino L, Chiotis K, Alongi P, Almkvist O, Wall A, Cerami C, Bettinardi V, Gianolli L, Nordberg A, Perani D. Cross-validation of FDG- and amyloid-PET biomarkers in mild cognitive impairment for the risk prediction to dementia due to Alzheimer's disease in a clinical setting. J Alzheimers Dis. 2017;59(2):603- 614.
Malpetti M, Ballarini T, Presotto L, Garibotto V, Tettamanti M, Perani D; Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database Network for Efficiency and Standardization of Dementia Diagnosis (NEST-DD). Gender differences in healthy aging and Alzheimer's Dementia: A 18 F-FDG-PET study of brain and cognitive reserve. Alzheimer's Hum Brain Mapp. 2017 Aug;38(8):4212-4227.
Sala A, Caminiti SP, Presotto L, Premi E, Pilotto A, Turrone R, Cosseddu M, Alberici A, Paghera B, Borroni B, Padovani A, Perani D. Altered brain metabolic connectivity at multiscale level in early Parkinson's disease. Sci Rep. 2017 Jun 26;7(1):4256.
Iaccarino L, Moresco RM, Presotto L, Bugiani O, Iannaccone S, Giaccone G, Tagliavini F, Perani D. An in vivo 11C-(R)-PK11195 PET and in vitro pathology study of microglia activation in Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Mol Neurobiol. 2017 Apr 28. doi: 10.1007/s12035-017-0522-6.
Perani D, Farsad M, Ballarini T, Lubian F, Malpetti M, Fracchetti A, Magnani G, March A, Abutalebi J. The impact of bilingualism on brain reserve and metabolic connectivity in Alzheimer's dementia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Feb 14;114(7):1690-1695.