A5083754023- Neuroscience of respiration and sleep
- Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Research
- Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Traumatic Brain Injury and Neurovascular Disturbances
- High Altitude and Hypoxia
- Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Respiratory Support and Mechanisms
- Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Intracranial Aneurysms: Treatment and Complications
- Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications
- Respiratory and Cough-Related Research
- Neonatal and fetal brain pathology
- Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques
- Cerebrovascular and Carotid Artery Diseases
- Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
- Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research
- Music Therapy and Health
- Intensive Care Unit Cognitive Disorders
- Travel-related health issues
- Asthma and respiratory diseases
- Cardiac, Anesthesia and Surgical Outcomes
- Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Cerebrospinal fluid and hydrocephalus
- COVID-19 and Mental Health
University of Oxford
2016-2025
Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging
2015-2024
John Radcliffe Hospital
2012-2023
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust
2013-2023
Expedition (United Kingdom)
2021-2022
Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre
2017-2018
Oxford Research Group
2018
University of Birmingham
2004-2015
Cardiff University
2008
University of Cambridge
2008
BackgroundThe medium-term effects of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on organ health, exercise capacity, cognition, quality life and mental health are poorly understood.MethodsFifty-eight COVID-19 patients post-hospital discharge 30 age, sex, body mass index comorbidity-matched controls were enrolled for multiorgan (brain, lungs, heart, liver kidneys) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), spirometry, six-minute walk test, cardiopulmonary test (CPET), life, cognitive assessments.FindingsAt 2–3...
The brainstem is directly involved in controlling blood pressure, respiration, sleep/wake cycles, pain modulation, motor, and cardiac output. As such it of significant basic science clinical interest. However, the brainstem's location close to major arteries adjacent pulsatile cerebrospinal fluid filled spaces, means that difficult reliably record functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from. These physiological sources noise generate time varying signals fMRI data, which if left...
To explore the lived experience of 'brain fog'-the wide variety neurocognitive symptoms that can follow COVID-19.A UK-wide longitudinal qualitative study comprising online focus groups with email follow-up.50 participants were recruited from a previous long COVID-19 (n=23) and support for people persistent following (n=27). In remotely held groups, invited to describe their comment on others' accounts. Individuals followed up by 4-6 months later. Data audiotaped, transcribed, anonymised...
Abstract Purpose To estimate the importance of respiratory and cardiac effects on signal variability found in functional magnetic resonance imaging data recorded from brainstem. Materials Methods A modified version retrospective image correction (RETROICOR) method (Glover et al, [2000] Magn Reson Med 44:162–167) was implemented resting brainstem echo‐planar (EPI) 12 subjects. Fourier series were fitted to based recordings (pulseoximetry turbine), including multiplicative terms that accounted...
Respiratory depression limits provision of safe opioid analgesia and is the main cause death in drug addicts. Although opioids are known to inhibit brainstem respiratory activity, their effects on cortical areas that mediate respiration less well understood. Here, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used examine how activity related a short breath hold modulated by remifentanil. We hypothesized remifentanil would differentially depress brain sensory-affective components over those...
Previously we observed differential activation in individual columns of the periaqueductal grey (PAG) during breathlessness and its conditioned anticipation (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib25">Faull et al., 2016b</xref>). Here, have extended this work by determining how PAG interact with higher cortical centres, both at rest context threat. Activation was ventrolateral (vlPAG) lateral (lPAG), where activity scaled intensity ratings, revealing a potential interface between...
Breathlessness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is often discordant with airway pathophysiology ("over-perception"). Pulmonary rehabilitation profoundly affects breathlessness, without influencing lung function. Learned associations influence brain mechanisms of sensory perception. We hypothesised that improvements breathlessness may be explained by changing neural representations learned associations. In 31 patients COPD, we tested how altered the relationship between...
<h3>BACKGROUND</h3> Dyspnea is the major source of disability in COPD. In COPD, environmental cues (eg, prospect having to climb stairs) become associated with dyspnea and may trigger even before physical activity commences. We hypothesized that brain activation relating such would be different between patients COPD healthy control subjects, reflecting greater engagement emotional mechanisms patients. <h3>METHODS</h3> Using functional MRI (FMRI), we investigated responses dyspnea-related...
The study of the brain's processing sensory inputs from within body ('interoception') has been gaining rapid popularity in neuroscience, where interoceptive disturbances are thought to exist across a wide range chronic physiological and psychological conditions. Here we present task analysis procedure quantify specific dimensions breathing-related interoception, including sensitivity, decision bias, metacognitive performance. Two major developments address some challenges presented by low...
Abstract Post-mortem studies have shown that patients dying from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection frequently pathological changes in their CNS, particularly the brainstem. Many of these are proposed to result para-infectious and/or post-infection immune responses. Clinical symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness, and chest pain reported post-hospitalized disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. We propose part due damage key neuromodulatory brainstem nuclei....
Abstract In this study we have used a highly immersive virtual reality (VR) cycling environment where incongruence between hill gradient (created by visual and bike tilt angle) actual workload (pedalling resistance) can experimentally manipulate perception of exercise effort. This therefore may provide method to examine the role effort in cardiorespiratory control during exercise. Twelve healthy untrained participants (7 men, age 26 ± 5 years) were studied five visits. On visit 1 underwent...
Anxiety is one of the most common and debilitating mental health disorders, related to changes in interoception (perception bodily states). While anxiety more prevalent women than men, gender differences interoception-anxiety associations are often overlooked. Here, we examined gender-specific relationships between breathing domain, utilising multicentre data pooled from four study sites (N = 175; 51% women). State scores were quantified via Spielberger State-Trait Inventory,...
Investigations into the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional MRI signal have used respiratory challenges with aim of probing cerebrovascular physiology. Such altered inspired partial pressures either carbon dioxide or oxygen, typically to a fixed and constant level (fixed challenge (FIC)). The resulting end-tidal gas then depend on subject's metabolism ventilatory responses. In contrast, dynamic forcing (DEF) rapidly independently sets oxygen desired levels by altering...
The effects of submaximal and maximal exercise on cerebral perfusion were assessed using a portable, recumbent cycle ergometer in nine unacclimatized subjects ascending to 5,260 m. At 150 m, mean (SD) oxygenation (rSO2%) increased during from 68.4 (SD 2.1) 70.9 3.8) (P < 0.0001) at oxygen uptake (.VO2(max)) 69.8 3.1) 0.02). In contrast, each the high altitudes studied, rSO2 was reduced 66.2 2.5) 62.6 3,610 m 0.0001), 63.0 58.9 4,750 62.4 3.6) 61.2 3.9) 0.01), .VO2(max) 3.3) 59.4 2.6) 58.0...
The sensation of breathlessness is the most threatening symptom respiratory disease. different subdivisions midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) are intricately (and differentially) involved in integrating behavioural responses to threat animals, while PAG has previously only been considered as a single entity human research. Here we investigate how these individual columns differently with threat. Eighteen healthy subjects were conditioned associate shapes certain or uncertain impending load,...
Abstract Background The medium-term effects of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on multiple organ health, exercise capacity, cognition, quality life and mental health are poorly understood. Methods Fifty-eight COVID-19 patients post-hospital discharge 30 comorbidity-matched controls were prospectively enrolled for multiorgan (brain, lungs, heart, liver kidneys) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), spirometry, six-minute walk test, cardiopulmonary test (CPET), life, cognitive assessments. Findings...
The periaqueductal grey (PAG) is a nucleus within the midbrain, and evidence from animal models has identified its role in many homeostatic systems including respiration. Animal have also demonstrated columnar structure that subdivides PAG into four columns on each side, these subdivisions different functions with regard to In this study we used ultra-high field functional MRI (7 T) image brainstem superior cortical areas at high resolution (1 mm3 voxels), aiming identify activation of...